Turkish Medical Association: Shopping Malls Reopened Too Early

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The government's decision to reopen shopping malls on Monday (May 11) was too early, according to a monthly report by the Turkish Medical Association (TTB).

"Shopping malls are opening but parks are closed. This makes us think that the decisions are made not in the light of data related to health but of the needs of the capital," said Prof. Kayıhan Pala, a public health specialist.

He also recalled the World Health Organization's (WHO) statements that the pandemic will not be over any time soon and efforts for vaccination and medication are still underway.

"Outbreak management is not transparent"

Pala also said that the management of the pandemic has not been transparent.

Because the Ministry of Health does not disclose the number of patients who are diagnosed with Covid-19 without a positive coronavirus test and the number of suspected cases and deaths, professional organizations and independent scientists are not able to assess the real impact of the pandemic, according to Pala.

It was a great inadequacy to not include the public and professional organizations in the process and the Ministry of Health did not assess whether the measures have been effective, he further said.

Turkey's strategy has not been suppressing the pandemic but reducing the effect of it, the professor stated.

Who makes the decisions?

Prof. Sinan Adıyaman, the chair of the TTB Central Committee, said that the fight against the pandemic should be carried out with scientific methods and epidemiological data.

He added that it is not known whether the decisions that directly affect citizens and health workers are made by the Ministry of Health's Science Committee, the ministry's bureaucracy of another "authorized committee."

The 145-page report includes assessments about public health methods used by other countries, the pandemic management strategy adopted in Turkey, the reporting of cases and the health of healthcare workers. (AS/VK)