Confusing cold with Covid-19 to increase hospitals' workload in winter, professor warns

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Turkey will encounter new challenges regarding the coronavirus pandemic in winter, a professor has warned.

Having confirmed its first case on March 11, the country has fought the virus throughout the spring and summer months.

Assoc. Prof. Yasemin Çağ, a lecturer at the Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department at İstanbul Medeniyet University, told the state-run Anadolu Agency that confusing common cold or flu with Covid-19 might cause an "unnecessary workload" at hospitals.

As Covid-19 symptoms are similar to those of cold and flu, people will apply to the hospital to find out whether they are infected with coronavirus, which is "our greatest fear as physicians," she said. "All of the patients with cough, fever and sore throat, which we don't see too often in the summer, will be considered as Covid."

Noting that people will spend more time indoors as temperatures decrease, which will increase the risk of infection, Çağ said, "If the social distancing and general precautionary rules are not followed in the winter, the second wave that we expect will definitely come."

Common use areas will also pose a greater risk for Covid-19 in the winter, she further noted. "The places where the risk is highest where people touch with their hands the most." (RT/VK)