Covid-19 severity increases in Turkey as one out of every 10 patients is in intensive care now
Photo: AA, Graphics: bianet
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After the reopening steps on June 1, the proportion of Covid-19 patients in intensive care rose from 2 percent to 10 percent.
In this period, the number of active cases fell from around 30 thousand to less than 12 thousand, while the number of patients in intensive care nearly doubled.
There was also an increase in the number of patients intubated and hospitalized after diagnosis. The number of intubated patients, which was 281 on 1 June, increased to 378 as of yesterday (23 July).
According to the weekly situation reports published by the Ministry of Health, the rate of hospitalized cases reached 79 percent in the week of July 6-12. At the time of the publication of the report, there were about 206,000 total cases and 110,000 hospitalizations.
The number of hospitalizations declined in the week of July 13 - July 19. In the last three weeks, there were 8,563 new cases and 4,922 hospitalizations, 7,182 new cases and 5,672 hospitalizations and 6,629 cases and 3,707 hospitalizations, respectively.
In a statement on July 17 the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) also noted the increase in the number of intensive care patients and stated that although the daily number of cases fell below a thousand, the severity of the cases increased.
Pointing out that only those who showed symptoms were tested, the TTB suggested that the test strategy should be revised in the reopening period to include people at risk and people with asymptomatic infection.
Recoveries are higher than new cases
The data released by the Ministry of Health shows that the number of daily cases, which remained below a thousand before re-opening, rose again towards the middle of June and continued between 1,200 and 1,500 until mid-July. The number of daily recoveries has not fallen below new cases since June 30.
No significant change has been observed in the number of daily deaths in the reopening process. Since June 1, the lowest number of daily fatalities was 15, and the highest was 24.
The number of cases, which was 164 thousand on 1 June, is over 220,000 as of yesterday. The number of those who recovered increased from 128 thousand to 205,000 within the same period. The number of those who lost their lives exceeded 5,000.
Coronavirus reopening in TurkeyTurkey's easing of coronavirus measures started as early as on May 11, when the government reopened shopping malls, albeit with new physical distancing and hygiene rules. This was followed by more steps on June 1, including the reopening of cafes, restarurants and similar places, as well as parks, beaches and recration areas. On the same day, entry and exit restrictions for 15 larger provinces, including İstanbul and Ankara, were lifted and domestic flights resumed. On June 5, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan abruptly lifted the weekend curfew for the 15 provinces, which was declared by the Interior Ministry about 12 hours before. The weekend curfews had been in place since April 11. The President further announced on June 9 that people over the age of 65 would be allowed to go out between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. A curfew was declared for the elderly on March 22. Those younger than 18 were also allowed to go out on the condition of being with their parents. The government also resumed international flights on June 11 and announced that all tourism facilities, theaters and concert halls would reopen on July 1. |
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