Health minister hints ‘end of pandemic’ by shaking hands with citizens

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has shown hints that the end of the coronavirus pandemic is nearing while visiting tradesmen in the southeastern province of Adıyaman unmasked and shaking hands with them.

"We are going back to our old days when measures or curbs did not exist," Koca said on April 25.

Posing with youth and tradesmen without wearing a face mask, Koca highlighted, "I have started shaking hands. I have joined the crowd. I am near young people."

When asked how he felt, the minister added, "We have missed so much."

"Isn't it important to live normalization without masks?" he asked.

Turkey has administered over 147.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

Over 57.8 million people have received a first jab, while more than 53 million are now fully vaccinated.

"We have two weapons against COVID-19. Vaccines and pills," he said, suggesting citizens to get administered with indigenous vaccine Turkovac.

"We know that Turkovac is effective on the Omicron variant."

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry condemned an attack on health workers in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır's Lice district. Relatives of a citizen who died by touching electrical current tried to assault the health workers.

"We were deeply affected by this incident even though there were no casualties," Koca added.