The reproduction rate of the new coronavirus outbreak in Turkey has decreased below the critical treshold, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced today (May 20) at a news conference in Ankara, the capital.
The R0 value, also known as the reproduction number, dropped to 0.72, the minister said. The value has reduced by half over the past week as it was 1.56 on May 13 as stated by Koca. However, the number of coronavirus tests also decreased within this period.
The R number indicates the average number of people who will contract a contagious disease from a single person who has the disease. All countries aim to decrease the R0 value below 1, in another words, they aim to make an infected person transmit the virus to less than one person on average.
Turkey also saw the lowest number of daily fatalities since late March as 23 people died of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 4,222. The number of daily new coronavirus cases in dropped below 1,000 for the first time since March 25.
Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus causing the Covid-19 disease has spread to at least 188 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit territories.
The pandemic has killed over 320,000 people worldwide, with nearly five million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.8 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.
Mesut was using his single use blade for the 15th time. It didn’t remove a hair on his face, but just glided on the foam like a man trailing a motor boat.
Every time he thought of the price of these things now, he shuddered. I could get two blocks of cheese for the price of these.
He held the blunt instrument between two fingers and dropped it in the bin.
I’ll grow a beard.
II.
She got up early to prepare “breakfast.” All night she had tossed and turned, how could she make it happen?
She cut the last few slices of the stale bread, so thinly you could see the sun through it. The last of the cheese the same. Yesterday’s tea was reheated, and to make the table look fuller she placed a few flowers she picked up from the side of the road in a cup.
The children ran into the kitchen excited, within seconds the table was empty. Zeynep looked around, Mesut walked down the stairs slowly stroking his stubble.
“The flowers are a nice touch, Zeynep.” She smiled nervously, she was blaming herself, as he was.
He tidied the table and left the house. There was little to say, or eat.
III.
It was shopping day; this was becoming more like attending a funeral with many guests. Each picking up an item of food, looking at the price, then putting it down.
Mesut was loading up the cart: large loafs of bread, feta, olives, fresh juice and vegetables.
“What are you doing?” She was crying now. “Feta… I mean…”
“I won a bet.”
“You’ve been gambling our little money!” There was fire in her eyes.
He nervously stroked his finger were his ring used to be, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
‘We are pursuing a miracle’: Doctor describes battle to save Sırrı Süreyya Önder
Önder, Turkey's deputy parliament speaker and a key figure in the ongoing Kurdish peace initiative, has been in critical condition since Apr 15 when he suffered a cardiac arrest.
The condition of Sırrı Süreyya Önder, deputy speaker of the parliament and a prominent figure in the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, remains highly critical following a life-threatening cardiac event earlier this month.
Önder suffered a cardiac arrest due to a ruptured aorta on the night of Apr 15 at his home in İstanbul. He was immediately hospitalized and has been in intensive care since then.
In an interview with Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Professor Ertan Sağbaş, head of Cardiovascular Surgery at Florence Nightingale Hospital, detailed the intensive and multifaceted efforts to save Önder’s life, describing the process as “a pursuit of a miracle.”
Sağbaş recounted that Önder was rushed to the hospital unconscious. The diagnosis of aortic dissection, where the layers of the aorta, the main artery leading to the heart, tear apart, was confirmed via echocardiography, prompting immediate surgery. The medical team had no prior knowledge of the patient’s identity when they mobilized.
“We would have responded in the exact same way regardless of who the patient was,” he emphasized.
The emergency surgery lasted about 12 hours. A bypass was performed using a vein from Önder’s leg. Given the damage to his heart, he was placed on an ECMO device, a form of artificial heart-lung support. The operation concluded without closing the chest completely due to cardiac swelling.
Neurological concerns
After the surgery, the medical team has observed initial signs of recovery in the right side of the heart, which had previously shown no activity. However, brain function remains uncertain.
Prof. Sağbaş explained that Önder has not regained consciousness, and a recent CT scan indicated severe brain swelling. Despite receiving no sedatives, he remains unresponsive, which doctors believe could be due to a lack of oxygen to the brain or poor blood flow caused by the tear reaching a major artery.
“There's still a high degree of uncertainty,” said the doctor. “We don’t know what kind of neurological condition lies beneath the edema.”
Prof. Sağbaş (MA)
Önder is receiving many different treatments, including drugs to support his heart, reduce swelling in the brain and blood vessels, and prevent infection or blood clots. Doctors are also carefully managing his fluid levels to help reduce swelling.
Prof. Sağbaş added that Önder already had an aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the main artery, measuring 4.6 centimeters. Although not initially considered to require surgery, the condition was exacerbated by a suspected connective tissue disorder, which compromised the strength of the aortic wall.
Cautious hope
The doctor refrained from giving any timeline for potential recovery, noting the unpredictability of such complex cases. “We’re moving day by day,” he said. “We’ve seen some progress in reducing the edema, but there’s still a long road ahead.”
Despite the grim odds, the medical team continues to work relentlessly. “We are trying to achieve a miracle,” Prof. Sağbaş repeated. “Our hope remains, even if the chances are slim.”
Sırrı Süreyya Önder, 61, is a socialist politician and filmmaker known for his advocacy of Kurdish rights and his role in the Kurdish peace initiatives, including the unsuccessfull peae attempt in the 2010s and the currently ongoing talks. His critical health condition has drawn widespread concern across the political spectrum. (VK)
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