‘COVID-19 is a working class disease’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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As part of its visits to political parties regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Turkish Medical Association (TTB) visited the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) yesterday (April 14).

The meeting took place at the HDP Central Office in the capital city of Ankara and it was attended by TTB Central Council Chair Prof. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı, TTB Central Council member Deniz Erdoğdu, HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan and HDP Vice Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan.

Speaking at the meeting, TTB Chair Prof. Korur Fincancı said that the government sees the outbreak process as an opportunity, adding that President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in fact openly said it. "Society must be enabled to say, 'We don't give up our right to life'," underlined Şebnem Korur Fincancı.

Call for solidarity

Calling on every segment of society to solidarize, Korur Fincancı added, "All production, except for essential production, must be halted, alternate working conditions must definitely be introduced for workers of essential production, it must be ensured that a fewer number of people work in well-ventilated environments. Mask, distance, hygiene is not a right rhyme. This must be mask, distance, ventilation. Because we know that contagion is very high in poorly ventilated environments. We know that this disease is a working class disease. The working class has to work. White collar workers work at home, it has in fact become an area of profit for the capital."

HDP: We take the TTB as a basis

Speaking afterwards, HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan also said, "To be frank, I do not think that the partial lockdown measures unveiled on Monday would fix the current situation. We know that the AKP government cannot manage the pandemic process any longer. That is why it is now up to us. Even the matter of vaccination has turned into an ambiguity. We know that a vast majority of healthcare workers and education laborers have been deprived of vaccination. In a period when workers, women and workers are deprived of vaccines, the disease naturally spreads more."

Pervin Buldan also underlined that since the outbreak of the pandemic, the HDP has been taking the statements of the TTB and professional medical organizations as a basis, adding, "We are together in this struggle, we are on your side." (DŞ/SD)