After a strenuous battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkey has recently been enjoying a lull in the number of cases. Encouraged by the sharp decline, authorities have scrapped most of the restrictions. Indeed, only two remain: mandatory mask use in hospitals and on mass transit.
The government had pledged that the last limitations would be removed once the number of daily cases drops below 1,000. This date is sooner than many think, experts say, predicting an end to all restrictions by late May or early June.
On Wednesday, the Health Ministry reported 1,132 cases and seven fatalities, while another 1,185 people recovered. The two-dose vaccination rate has exceeded 85%.
Professor Deniz Odabaş, a member of the Health Ministry’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, which temporarily suspended its work after most restrictions were removed, says minor fluctuations may be expected in the number of cases after Ramadan Bayram (Eid al-Fitr). The Muslim holiday is an occasion of higher mobility, with people traveling en masse across the country for family gatherings and vacations.
Odabaş said the holiday mobility will not affect the rate of fatalities, among the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic in Turkey in 2020. “With warmer weather and a drop in the cases below 1,000, we expect (authorities) to lift all restrictions,” she said. Warmer weather means more people spending time outdoors, therefore, limiting the higher infection risk indoors or at crowded venues without proper ventilation.
She pointed out that it was only natural for mobility and thus, infection risk, to increase during holidays when more people come into contact with each other, something serving as a breeding ground for infections. She urged citizens not to neglect getting their booster shots. Although two doses of the vaccine provide protection, it is only temporary and experts have repeatedly urged the public to get their third, fourth or fifth boosters. Odabaş highlighted that it was particularly important for the elderly and people with chronic illnesses not to skip their booster shots.
Professor Nurettin Yiyit, another member of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, is more optimistic. Speaking to Ihlas News Agency (IHA) after an event earlier this week in the northern province of Karabük, Yiyit said the restrictions may be lifted within the next 10 days. Yiyit says Turkey exhibited ideal crisis management during the pandemic and was now “reaping its fruits.” “The latest coronavirus variant omicron rapidly spread but was not as severe as earlier variants and this changed everything,” he said. “We have seen a decline in the cases and were encouraged by seeing fewer hospitalizations among the infected. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that the coronavirus, in its omicron variant, is no longer a burden on the health care system and the numbers would further drop,” he said.
Yiyit said the current measures in place against the coronavirus are similar to measures against influenza. “Like in times when influenza peaked, we will proceed with personal protective measures (rather than mass restrictions). Every infected person is advised to protect themselves,” he said.
He also said that they did not expect a new virus or variant risk, but Turkey was well-prepared anyway. “We have a strong health infrastructure and new hospitals are being constructed and opened. New health professionals have joined our army of health care workers. In addition, Turkey is now a country that has succeeded in developing its own vaccine. So, we won’t have to make new preparations in the case of a new variant,” he said. Yiyit also pointed out the successful contact tracing work during the pandemic and other public health measures applied during the peak of the virus's spread.
