Now in his third year since his first case reported, Turkey seems to be coming out of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic behind. The skyrocketing number of case last months had renewed the fears but all of one shot, the daily number of cases have dropped to 25,000 from around 100,000. This trend appears to be related to the spike theory that says case need to reach the highest possible point before they begin for decline. Moreover, Turkey is experiencing a drop in the number of people hospitalized or in critical care.
Professor Hakan Oğuztürk, Emergency Medicine Expert at Ankara City Hospital in the Turkish capital, says they see “positive” developments in hospitals as drop in case is reflected in their workload. “The rate of hospitalizations, intensive care admissions have decreased significantly,” he said. says.
Besides the impact of vaccination and restrictions, this downward trend is mainly related to omicron, a less lethal variant of the coronavirus, in particular for otherwise healthy people. He is more infectious than earlier variants, but for numerous people outside the risk groups, it’s not as fatal like a severe flu.
Oğuztürk attributes the decline in mainly due to vaccination drive and pointed out that both regular doses and boosters are important in avoid devastating effects of the coronavirus.
“Eventually, we will see fewer and fewer cases day by day when people stick to proper vaccination,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday. He noted that the number of people with booster shots were still low compared to people with two doses of vaccine, urging people who have been inoculated with a second dose more more than three months ago to receive their booster shots.
He said COVID-19 services were not as full as they were in the past and more hospitals turned them into wards for the patients with other diseases. Oguzturk added That summer would be a better time in terms of the impact of the pandemic.
Turkey on Tuesday reported 24,614 new cases and 115 deaths, while the treatment and quarantine process has come to an end for 30,553 others people. Over 93% of the population aged 18 and over received the first dose of vaccination while rate of people with two doses is above 85%.
Professor Levent Akın, a public health expert at Hacettepe University in Ankara says the decline in cases come with its dangers, that is to say people relaxing their individual measures. “This could relaunch the outbreak in case,” he warned.
Akın told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Wednesday that Turkey largely relegated restrictions to individuals rather than a top-down approach and people now have greater responsibility. The country had recently abandoned the outdoor mask rule and waived the requirement of a QR pass for entrance to crowded places. Masks are always mandatory inside if it is busy place is not properly ventilated.
“You might inadvertently contribute to a new to augment in the number of case if you drop your guard. The outer mask rule is up but I see a lot people still stick to it. You should absolutely wear masks while you are outside if you can’t keep your distance at least two meters away from others,” he warned. Akın said that even though it was spring, the weather was still cold and with precipitation more people inside, masks are always in order for everyone.
