Turkey may consider imposing new virus measures in November, December

ANKARA

The Turkish government may consider introducing new antivirus measures in November and December depending on the course that the COVID-19 outbreak takes, daily Hürriyet has reported.

The possible measures to be taken, particularly in the country’s large provinces, will be discussed at the Health Ministry’s Science Board meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 28, according to the daily.

Depending on the pace of the outbreak’s spread, new curbs could be introduced or some of the restrictions might rollback, the daily said.

In the face of a recent surge in the number of infections, officials have been discussing and planning possible measures to be introduced in the country’s large provinces, particularly in Istanbul and other provinces in the Marmara region.

Officials have reckoned that the main risk was of people gathering in indoor places, and measures for the same can be taken to prevent people from gathering in groups.

The daily reported that imposing weekend curfews in large provinces may be considered, but this will not happen immediately but at a later stage if such an action is deemed necessary. Officials are also mulling upon restrictions on intercity travel, which eventually can be reintroduced as a resort to check the spread of the coronavirus.

“The fight against the outbreak is a dynamic process. New decisions could be made depending on the outbreak-related developments. As part of the process, some measures could be introduced while others may be rolled back,” officials remarked.

In a Twitter post, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the number of patients in critical condition and active patients continues to increase.

According to a survey, which was carried out between Oct. 15 and 21 by pollster Ipsos, some quarters of the public have been overlooking the threats from the outbreak.

A considerable number of people believe that the outbreak has come under control, and some even said that they had not been adhering to the coronavirus measures anymore, according to Sidar Gedik, the CEO of Ipsos.

Some 20 percent of the people who polled believed that the outbreak was exaggerated, and they were of the view that taking personal precautions against the virus was unnecessary, according to the data showed.