Turkish Minister’s Talk About Defeating Pandemic Dismays Experts

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Sunday said the number of coronavirus cases in the country had risen to 86,306, which is the highest figures outside Europe and the US.

The 3,977 new registered cases on Sunday also pushed the number of coronavirus cases in Turkey above China's, where the outbreak originated.

The number of deaths related to the disease also rose to 2,107, with new 127 deaths registered on Sunday. 

So far, Turkey has conducted nearly 635,000 tests. Some 11,976 sick people have recovered and 1,922 are currently in intensive care units.

But Health Minister Koca also said the number of cases was on a downward trend in Turkey. 

"Trust in the power of our health army and health system," Koca urged on Twitter on Sunday.

However, experts and medical unions think the tone of official optimism is premature.

"The statement that the pandemic is under control is not scientific; it is political. The pandemic continues to grow with around 4,000 cases daily," Emrah Altindis, a professor at Boston College's Biology Department wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Turkey now has the seventh highest total number of coronavirus cases in the world, Altindis noted.

Experts and opposition parties have pressured the government to implement all necessary measures, including a general curfew without eyeing its economic and political consequences. 

However, so far, the Turkish government has been reluctant to do anything that might further damage the already wounded economy.

The Turkish Medical Association, TTB, the largest medical union in the country, has also asked the government to distribute more protective medical equipment for medical workers.

Medical unions on April 17 said that in Istanbul alone...