COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
The COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
The first case in Turkey was recorded on 11 March, when a local returned home[note 1] from a trip to Europe.[4] The first death due to COVID-19 in the country occurred on 15 March.[4] Turkey stood out from the rest of Europe by not ordering a legal lockdown[note 2][5] until April 2021, when the country enacted its first nationwide restrictions.[6] The government kept many businesses open, and allowed companies to set their own guidelines for workers.[5]
The Turkish health system[5] has the highest number of intensive care units[7] in the world at 46.5 beds per 100,000 people (compared to 9.6 in Greece, 11.6 in France, and 12.6 in Italy). As of 3 May 2021, Turkey's observed case-fatality rate stood at 0.84%, the 148th highest rate globally.[8][9] This low case-fatality rate has generated various explanations, including the relative rarity of nursing homes,[10] favorable demographics,[11] a long legacy of contact tracing,[12] the high number of intensive care units,[13] universal health care,[12] and a lockdown regime that led to a higher proportion of positive cases among working-age adults.[5] But according to an August 2020 academic study by The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, the government of Turkey has been underreporting COVID-19 statistics.[14]
On 30 September 2020, Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca acknowledged that since 29 July, the reported number of cases was limited to symptomatic cases that required monitoring, which was met with rebuke by the Turkish Medical Association.[15] This practice ended on 25 November, when the ministry started to report asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases alongside symptomatic ones.[15]
Background
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[15]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[15]
Government response
Child welfare and education
On 12 March 2020, the Ministry of National Education announced that except for schools catering to students with special needs, all schools[5] would close starting on 16 March.[18] Given the intense learning needs of students with disabilities, the Ministry of National Education announced that elementary-, middle- and high-school students with special needs would continue to attend school in person in fixed small groups, with adults rotating into the class, so as to facilitate contact tracing.[18] The Ministry of National Education subsequently announced that teachers and staff in schools for students with special needs are able to opt out of in-person teaching if they or their families had a health risk.[18]
On 17 March, Minister Selçuk said that a subset of teachers were focusing on content generation for the national online platform on TRT EBA TV, which became functional on 23 March,[18] with the rest of the teachers matched to students to provide individual assessment, coaching, and tutoring from 23 March to the end of the semester.[5]
After the Ministry of National Education announced the closure of all schools[5] (except those catering to students with special needs) on 12 March, the government acknowledged the impact of the closure of schools on the welfare of children. Noting that children with preexisting mental-health issues[18] or who live in non-supportive home environments were likely to suffer from being out of school, the government announced emergency measures, including fund increases for foster children, expansion of the nutrition assistance program,[18] direct payments to families, and a national moratorium on evictions.[38] To alleviate students' social isolation, Selçuk piloted a project on 27 March, where the Ministry of National Education started paying schools to offer small group activities for students on Mondays and Fridays, with deep cleaning sessions in between.[18]