COVID spreading fast among children, say experts
ISTANBUL
COVID-19 is spreading among children in Türkiye, experts say, noting that vaccinations for those aged between 12 and 18 have almost come to a complete halt.
Health experts have been cautioning the public over the past days against the spike in the cases but this time they issued a stark warning about the spread of the virus among children.
“Cases among children, which increased significantly over the past ten days, are not very severe. The public appears to be completely ignoring the anti-virus rules. People, who have not had the virus previously, are being infected in the new wave of the pandemic,” said Ayper Somer from Istanbul Medical School’s Children Hospital.
Children aged between eight and 12 must be vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of the summer, Somer added, reiterating that people need to have face masks on public transport and in public spaces.
“Unless necessary measures are taken, we may see a significant increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations starting September,” Somer said.
Three out of four people who tested positive for COVID are those who do not wear face masks, according to Professor Haluk Çokuğraş from the Science Board, which advises the government on the pandemic.
“We have been repeatedly making warnings over the past two and a half years, but we are having the same situation almost every six months,” he said.
“I have lost most confidence that people will adhere to rules and the situation will improve. What people do not understand is that a new “Turkish variant” of the virus may emerge with much more severe symptoms,” Çokuğraş said.
The weekly number of coronavirus cases increased from around 27,000 between June 20 and June 26 to more than 57,000 between June 27 and July 3, according to the latest data from the Health Ministry. Meanwhile, the weekly death toll from the pandemic rose from 17 to 25 over the same period.
