Minister of Health, Dr. Fahrettin Koca, delivered statements at the press conference held after the Coronavirus Scientific Committee Meeting.
"If measures are followed strictly, there is no need for fear"
Minister Koca reminded that people over 65 could now go out everyday between 10 am and 8 pm and said, "The reason why this group was at home for all this time was because they are under greater risk of COVID-19. Lifting restrictions does not mean that the risk is gone."
Koca continued,"Before imposing a curfew on people over 65, 15.7% of the cases were people over 65. Following the curfews, this rate fell to 7.5%. During restrictions, the likelihood of contracting the disease went down almost 50%. These results, which have been possible by staying home, should be maintained by following the measures strictly outside. If measures are followed strictly, there is no need for fear."
Talking about the lifting of restrictions for children under the age of 18, Koca said, "This age group is asymptomatic carriers. The significant fall in the number of cases and deaths has been made possible through the sacrifice of the youngsters and the elderly. I hope that they consider the lifting of restrictions as a thank you."
Pointing out that Turkey had passed a very important test and now it had to prepare for the finals, Koca continued, "We did not have this knowledge, experience and habits at the beginning. Now, we know very well how to protect ourselves from this disease. Before, we were passively fighting the pandemic. But now, in a controlled social life, we are actively fighting it. We are giving this fight by going out, taking a part in social and cultural life, and working. We have two weapons: One is the mask and the other is social distancing. These two weapons complement each other."
Emphasis on "controlled social life"
Noting that the normalization period was important not only for healthcare, but for many other sectors, Koca added, "This global pandemic did not only force people to stay home to protect their lives, but it also wreak havoc on production, trade, economy, education, cultural life and social life. Our country is among the ones experiencing this minimally."
"A last case can only be possible by following the measures", said Koca and reminded everyone that the risk was still out there.
"We would like to give a health screening for all passengers arriving from abroad"
Koca said, "Different from Europe, what we would like to do is to conduct health screening on all passengers arriving from abroad. If there are any signs of the disease, or fever, we will plan the treatment at hospitals."
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