New Regulations by Health Ministry Amid Normalization in Turkey

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The Ministry of Health has revised its novel coronavirus (COVID-19) measures amid further normalization steps in the country since June 1.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), the Ministry has sent an official letter to the governor's offices of all 81 provinces in Turkey as well as health institutions, informing them that some restrictions imposed due to the outbreak have been partially or totally lifted.

According to the new regulations introduced by the Ministry, patient visits will be allowed for one person to meet the needs of the inpatient and the visit will be paid after working hours. In the meantime, everyone inside the medical institutions (healthcare personnel, students, patients, hospital attendants, etc.) will have to wear face masks.

Visits are not allowed in intensive and palliative care units.

On condition of complying with the rules set up by the Ministry, patients in child and newborn sections will be visited once a day if they are not diagnosed with COVID-19. Those who are COVID-19 positive will be visited upon permission by the doctor and with necessary precautions taken.

Health workers now allowed to quit their jobs

A letter previously prohibiting health workers to take leaves or quit their jobs, which was in effect as of late March as they would be needed during the fight against the pandemic, has also been annulled.

According to the new regulation, health personnel are now allowed to take leaves or quit their jobs if they wish as of today.

23 new fatalities reported yesterday

Sharing the latest figures about the COVID-19 outbreak yesterday (June 7), the Ministry of Health confirmed 2,647 more recoveries, with 137,969 patients recovering from the novel coronavirus countrywide.

Over the last 24 hours, 23 new fatalities were reported, taking the death toll to 4,692, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Healthcare workers did 35,335 tests for the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the total to more than 2.33 million.

According to the test results, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 170,132 with 914 new infections. Currently, some 274 patients are being treated in intensive care, the ministry data showed.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, Russia, and several European countries are currently the hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed over 400,000 people worldwide, with more than 6,94 million confirmed cases and over 3.1 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University. (AÖ/SD)