Minister repeats warning over continuing rise in cases in Istanbul, across Turkey

ANKARA

Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has reiterated his warning that the number of people who contract COVID-19 is increasing in Istanbul and across the country.

“The main reason behind the spike in cases is that people continue to live their lives just like how they did before the outbreak. You may encounter undetected spreaders in cramped places,” Koca wrote on Twitter, sharing photos showing the crowds on the streets.

In the face of the spike in the coronavirus cases, the government introduced a series of measures, particularly targeting the indoor places to take the spread of the disease under control, which came into effect as of Nov. 4.

In line with those curbs, indoor facilities, such as shopping malls, parks, markets, restaurants, cafes, barber shops, sports centers, internet cafes, theaters, cinemas and concert halls started to close at 10:00 p.m. in all 81 provinces of Turkey.

In Istanbul, which Koca recently said accounts for 40 percent of all reported cases in the county, work hours in the industrial sector has been rearranged while the employees in the public sector who are over 60 and women who are pregnant or have children below the age of 10 and employees with chronic diseases will work from home.

In the western province of Balıkesir, the number of COVID-19 cases has tripled while the number of patients aged over 65, receiving treatment in intensive care units has increased significantly, said Hasan Şıldak, the governor.