‘This is not the way to impose a lockdown’

* Photo: İTO

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The İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) Executive Board and the İTO COVID-19 Monitoring Group shared the results of their monthly report on the pandemic at a press conference yesterday (May 4).

Held at the İTO building in Cağaloğlu, the press conference on the April report was attended by İTO Chair Prof. Pınar Saip, İTO Secretary General Osman Küçükosmanoğlu, Executive Board members Dr. Güray Kılıç, Prof. Rukiye Eker Ömeroğlu and Dr. Murat Ekmez.

'Vaccination must be done quickly'

Taking the floor first at the conference, Prof. Pınar Saip said that since the outbreak of the pandemic, they, as the İstanbul Medical Chamber, have been trying to draw attention to the deficiencies and warning the government and the Ministry of Health about the measures that need to be taken with their report titled "Health in İstanbul in the Days of Corona."

Underlining that the current situation of the pandemic in Turkey is extremely concerning, Prof. Saip stressed that the class aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been revealed all too clearly in this process.

Saip noted that while millions of workers are forced to work, the government tries to save the day with half measures and inadequate precautions. According to İTO Chair Prof. Saip, what was announced as a lockdown is not a full lockdown in the full sense of the term.

In addition to the 17-day 'full lockdown' that will be in force in Turkey until May 17, Dr. Saip also talked about the ongoing vaccination efforts in the country. She noted that only 12 percent of the population has been vaccinated so far, adding that the future is uncertain in that regard. She emphasized that vaccination must be done in a quick and urgent manner.

'İstanbul is once again the Wuhan of Turkey'

The press statement of the İstanbul Medical Chamber was read out by Dr. Güray Kılıç. Titled "This is not the way to impose a lockdown", the statement indicated that as long as the deficient, wrong and inconsistent policies do not change by the end of April 2021, it is impossible to expect that the COVID-19 outbreak will be taken under control or pressured.

The report of the İTO underlined that the situation in İstanbul amid the pandemic has now returned to its situation of a year ago.

"İstanbul, one of the megalopolises of the world, has become the city with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey for reasons such as its total population, population density (number of people per square meter), the high number of actively working population and the high number of migrants and refugees," the report has noted, briefly adding:

"In Turkey, the first COVID-19 case and the first death occurred in İstanbul in March 2020. Defined as the Wuhan of Turkey by the Health Ministry in April 2020, İstanbul has been back to the square one with its high number of cases, as the Health Ministry announced that 40 percent of all cases are in İstanbul." (AS/SD)

* Click here for the April 2021 report of the İTO