Minister of Health, Dr. Fahrettin Koca, delivered a statement following the Coronavirus Scientific Committee meeting.
Noting that the rate of increase in the number of cases had decreased, Koca said, "In today's committee meeting, we discussed the new variants, vaccination activities, and mutations. We have also discussed social communication, which is an important element of pandemic management."
Underlining that the mutations had been effective in the increasing cases and were more infectious, Koca continued,"The UK variant is the most common variant in Turkey. For the past few days, we have seen how infectious it is. Even though our robust healthcare system is able to shoulder the burden now, no capacity is unlimited. We have to curb the spread to alleviate this burden. Patients continue where they left off after they recover. However, healthcare workers start a new battle every day. We have to break this vicious cycle.”
"No Indian variant detected in Turkey”
Minister Koca drew attention to the new Indian variant, and said, "Even though we have not detected this variant in Turkey yet, we have adopted measures against it. In this context, people arriving from India are quarantined in designated dormitories for 14 days before entering Turkey."
"Very soon, the Sputnik V vaccine will also be rolled out"
Noting that vaccination is still underway despite Ramadan, Minister Koca continued, "With the beginning of Ramadan, the number of those delaying vaccination has increased. However, we made sure that you can go and get vaccinated even after fast-breaking. As I have said before, we are doing our best for supplying vaccines. Right now, we are actively using two vaccines and efforts are also underway to increase this number. I would like to point out that very soon the Sputnik V vaccine will also be rolled out."
"Responsibility does not mean accusation or blaming”
Koca emphasized that it was everyone's responsibility to inform the society accurately and to fight together this pandemic, and added,"I think my words regarding the responsibility being of the 84 million people may have been misunderstood, and I would like to elaborate. Responsibility does not mean accusation or blaming. Responsibility is an ideal of unity, which includes us fighting together to achieve better conditions, encouraging each other, lifting each other up and, most importantly, protecting each other.”
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