Minister of Health, Dr. Fahrettin Koca, delivered a statement following the Coronavirus Scientific Committee meeting.
"Isolation becomes more and more important"
"Any success achieved against the coronavirus is owed to isolation", said Koca and continued, "This is how we were able to prevent the importation of the disease into Turkey. Our primary weapon of defense has been isolation. Isolation becomes more and more important every day. The main objective is to prevent the spread."
"I invite you to be the heroes of a public health battle"
Underlining that we were going through times of patience and endurance, Koca continued, "These days are going to pass. The more effort we put in today, the more we will be proud of ourselves tomorrow. We will succeed, undoubtedly. This is a battle of public health. Our goal is to come out of this battle with minimum casualties and contain transmission early. Let's not give the virus the upper hand in this battle. I invite you to be the heroes of a public health battle. You will acieve this by isolating and protecting yourselves."
"We will increase this number to 20 to 25 thousand next week"
Koca commented,"We are conducting 15 thousand tests per day. Right now, 71 centers are performing tests. We will increase this number to 89. The rapid PCR from China is being used. I have also told you before that we had 1 million additional kits. We are increasing the number of testing centers. We will increase this number to 20 to 25 thousand next week. Within the next 10 days, it will be around 30 thousand."
"The goal is to reduce the number of deaths"
"Our goal is to reduce the number of deaths", said Koca and continued, "The number of deaths is increasing but the mortality rate is 1.58%. Which is lower than the rate in many countries and we are working towards further reducing it."
"Stricter measures could be taken at the regional level"
Pointing out that stricter measures could be taken at the regional level, including Provincial Pandemic Boards, Koca added, "Let's trust healthcare professionals and the Scientific Committee. Measures are the key to preventing the spread of the disease and loss of life. It is important to reduce mobility and not to leave home unless you have to. Please isolate yourselves. Our homes are our strength. Let's not go out. And give this virus a chance."
"All the responsibility is shouldered by our colleagues on the field"
Noting that the WHO European Director said that 10% of the cases in Europe were healthcare professionals, Koca continued,"I do not feel like saying this but we have 601 of such cases. All the responsibility is shouldered by our colleagues on the field. Rest assured that we are doing our best to fill in any gaps in terms of protective equipment. If there is anyone who is unable to have access to supplies, please contact us. We will not allow any gaps on this matter. In the last week alone, we have distributed around 4 million N95 masks."
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