‘If no pandemic measures are taken, there might be chaos in İstanbul’

* Photo: İstanbul Medical Chamber

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Holding a press conference today (October 27), the İstanbul Medical Chamber has shared its "Health in İstanbul Reports - 9/October."

The conference of the chamber has put an emphasis on the rapidly increasing number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in İstanbul as well as the current state of affairs, problems and recommendations.

The conference was attended by İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) Chair Prof. Pınar Saip, İTO Secretary General Dr. Osman Küçükosmanoğlu and İTO Executive Board member Dr. Güray Kılıç.

Dr. Saip has shared some findings from the report jointly prepared by the İTO Executive Board and İTO COVID-19 Monitoring Group.

The report has shown that while 38.8 percent of all COVID-19 cases across Turkey were in İstanbul as of October 18, 2020, this figure only refers to the number of citizens hospitalized in the city due to the virus.

Based on the report, the physicians have warned that unless effective measures are taken against the pandemic, a chaos will ensue in the city. The report has also raised concerns about the burnout and problems of health workers amid pandemic conditions.

'A tsunami cannot be countered in hospitals'

Dr. Güray Kılıç has also mentioned the steps to be taken during the pandemic and listed some recommendations:

"The pandemic must be countered not in hospitals, but in society and together with society ... It needs to be remembered that pandemic can be beaten not in hospitals, but among the general public, which constitutes the working area of primary healthcare.

"Primary healthcare services must be swiftly organized on a regional basis and must be optimized for struggle against the outbreak.

"The contribution and participation of all segments of society in the outbreak process must be ensured by establishing effective mechanisms.

"It must be ensured that the relevant local authorities and NGOs take part in the pandemic and public health boards of provinces; the provinces must be entitled to give their own decisions independently." (AS/SD)