Mortality rate of elderly people in Türkiye during pandemic only 4.4 percent

ANKARA

Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık stated Türkiye has various opportunities in terms of social benefits and social support. “We are one of the countries that are considered among the examples of developed social support. During the pandemic period around the world, including in developed countries, the mortality rate of the elderly people is between 31 and 84 percent. In our country, the mortality rate of elderly people during the pandemic period is only 4.4 percent. This is a serious achievement,” she said.

Minister Yanık explained social support are applied according to certain categories like region, economy, elderly versus young population. She underlined the importance of elderly care in places where the elderly population is denser and supporting children in places where the young population is more dense.

“147,000 of our children benefit from child support. In 2021, we paid about 2 billion Turkish Liras for Social Economic Support,” she stated. Minister Yanık noted in addition to the support provided to children in need of help, elderly and disabled persons are also provided for.

She underlined the importance of following the policies of the world and international organizations on social assistance and coordinating with them.

“Türkiye has various opportunities for social benefits and becoming a social state. With this, we are constantly trying to produce new projects. To exemplify, during the pandemic period in the world, including in developed countries, the mortality rate of the elderly is between 31 and 84 percent. In France, Italy, Spain, they removed dozens of elderly corpses from nursing homes. On the other hand, in our country, the rate of deceased elderly people during the pandemic period is only 4.4 percent. This is a serious achievement.” she stated.

The number of people infected during the pandemic in Türkiye is 16,797,750, while the total number of deaths is 100,840.