Daily Covid-19 Cases Continue to Increase in Turkey After Reopening

Authorities complain that people do not wear masks and maintain distance between one another. (Photo: Ankara/AA)

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Daily Covid-19 cases continued to increase for the fourth day in a row as the Health Ministry reported 1,562 cases for the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 178,239.

After the government eased most measures in early June, the number of new cases has increased to mid-May levels.

The death toll, meanwhile, has risen to 4,807 with 15 fatalities in a day.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca pointed out in a tweet that the number of recoveries was lower than new infections while patients in intensive care units and on ventilators have increased as well.

"We are moving away from the target. Our weakest point is imprudent optimism. Let's be cautiously optimistic. Let's fully implement the controlled social life tomorrow," he noted.

Here are today's numbers:

	Today	Yesterday	Total
Cases	1,562	1,459	178,239
Deaths	15	14	4,807
Tests	45,176	45,092	2,632,171
Recoveries	1,330	985	151,417
ICU patients			717 (+33)
Intubated patients			290 (+6)

Ministry advisor: Numbers show that we got normalization wrong

Prof. Tevfik Özlü, a pulmonologist and a member of the Health Ministry' Science Committee, said earlier in the day that if the increase in new cases continues, the country may face a "serious threat."

While the outbreak is still under control, the increase is "concerning," the professor said in a video on his personal YouTube channel.

About the cause of the spike in daily cases, Özlü said, "We got normalization wrong, we understood it as going back to the old days."

"If everyone in a crowd is masked and wears the mask appropriately, closing their mouths and noses, it means all of us are safe. But if some people are walking around without masks, I am not safe enough even if I wear a mask. Everyone needs to be sensitive," he said.

"Distance is very important as well. It is necessary not to touch people. There are many problems and carelessness about this," he added.

Coronavirus reopening in Turkey

Turkey'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.

Daily fatalities, cases and tests reported by the Health Ministry:

(VK)