Target of less than 1,000 COVID-19 cases possible by summer, academic states

ANKARA

In the upcoming months, Turkey could bring down daily COVID-19 confirmation numbers to below 1,000, a threshold targeted to further ease restrictions on public transport and medical institutions, an academic told Demirören News Agency.

“I think that these figures are achievable in the summer. The downward trend has continued for some time. There could be some slight increases with the introduction of ending mandatory face mask usage and the [Ramadan] feast, but we shouldn’t be demoralized. The daily number of cases could go up and down slightly, but it is expected to stay below 2,000. We could reach the target of 1,000 in the summer,” said Mustafa Necmi İlhan, dean of the Gazi University Faculty of Medicine.

İlhan, who is also a member of the Science Board that oversees the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, warned citizens to take precautions while paying visits to elderly people and those with chronic diseases during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

“An elderly person with a chronic disease should wear a protective mask when welcoming visitors. It is important that those elderly people should get booster doses [of COVID-19 jabs]. In the event we have symptoms of the coronavirus disease, we shouldn’t pay a visit to anyone and should self-quarantine,” he said.

On April 26, the requirement to wear protective face masks indoors in Turkey was scrapped, with the exception of medical institutions and public transportation.

As the coronavirus pandemic appeared to be receding, Turkey lifted the outdoor mask mandate on March 2.

Turkey’s confirmed cases of coronavirus increased by 2,479 in the past 24 hours, and 16 more people have died, the Health Ministry announced on April 27.

According to official data, over 57.8 million people have received their first doses of the COVID-19 jab, while more than 53 million are now fully vaccinated.