Only 8 in 1,000 people are immune to coronavirus in Turkey: Doctor

ANKARA - Demirören News Agency

Only eight in 1,000 people have developed immunity against the coronavirus in Turkey, which is very low, a doctor on the Health Ministry’s Science Board has said, while warning the public to follow the measures imposed by the authorities. 

“The rate of the people who got infected and have developed immunity to this virus is just eight in 1,000. This rate is very low. This means that we could encounter the disease,” said Prof. Dr. Seçil Özkan from Ankara’s Gazi University.  

The rate of immunity was determined as a result of the Health Ministry’s antibody tests. 

“It is planned to be carried out on 153,000 people. Until now, 118,000 have been done. This is a huge number,” she added. 

“On the other hand, this also means that we have done very well with the measures since March 11,” added Özkan, referring to the day the first COVID-19-positive case was confirmed in the country. 

“To be able to say, ‘The disease is over, we won’t see it among people anymore, people are immune,’ the immunity rate must be 60 percent [among population],” she said. 

She stressed on the need to strictly follow rules imposed by the authorities, which have made face masks mandatory in many provinces in the country and continuously urge people to keep their physical distances, until a vaccine is found. 

While saying the elderly population in Turkey was observing all calls made by authorities carefully, Özkan warned the youth to show similar behavior. 

“They carry big risks. They think they undergo the illness mildly, but they have no idea what the virus can do to their immune systems,” she added. 

She urged the youth to follow the rules strictly and be exemplary for children and the elderly.