Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca stated that the fight against the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) is getting better and more advanced every day and that the outbreak is under control, and said, “Despite the pandemic, even now, both our ward and intensive care rooms are not even as full as before the pandemic.”
Koca made statements at the press conference held after the Coronavirus Scientific Committee Meeting held via video conference at Bilkent Campus.
“Neither really less nor really more. What we need in this struggle is the truth itself. I have appeared before you with this principle in every press conference until today.” Koca started his speech by saying that journalists rely on the information provided by the Ministry against the pandemic.
Koca said, “You got your fighting power from this information. Neither for you nor for our healthcare professionals who continue the struggle on behalf of 83 million people, there is no other way than relying on the truth. Because covering up information in the fight against an epidemic is as dangerous as the epidemic itself. If there is no trust, such a major epidemic cannot be overcome.”
Minister Koca thanked those who believe that this fight is being carried out with transparency and continued his words as follows:
“I want you to know that if we had the same opportunities in terms of medicine as we have today, if our health system was just like it is today, but if trust was lacking, we would not have reached this point. The unseen heroes of the struggle are those who trust in this struggle.
You trust the health army waging this struggle, you trust the outcome of this struggle, you know that the information we share is solid. If you did not trust these, you would not rely on the measures we insist on. Those who make statements and allegations that undermine this trust are unknowingly jeopardizing these measures. Today, I will talk to you about some of the issues that reaffirm your trust in our healthcare professionals, our Scientific Committee and our response strategy every day. I will provide you with important information on some of the stages of the disease and the related treatments, which will also provide an objective basis for our treatment successes. I will also make some comparisons on mortality rates.”
Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca gave information about the struggle process and said, “We are better and further ahead every day in the fight against coronavirus. The data we have shows us that the outbreak is under our control. However, this control can suddenly turn into a false hope if you stretch the measures. The information we share openly should not make you think that this is over, it is only certain that whatever we do, we get results. If we apply the measures, death rates are decreasing, that is certain. If we apply the measures, the number of new patients decreases, that is for sure. No optimistic sentence, no hope should lead you to complacency, it should give you the determination to fight.”
“The number of patients has dropped significantly today compared to yesterday”
Sharing the coronavirus data for the last 24 hours, Koca reported that they received the results of 37 thousand 535 tests today. Koca gave the following information:
“According to these results, 3 thousand 83 new patients were detected. In other words, we see that the number of patients has decreased significantly today compared to yesterday. Our total number of cases reached 98 thousand 674. We lost 117 patients in the last 24 hours. We have a decrease again compared to yesterday. I wish them God’s mercy. The days we hope for the most are the days when we will not have any news of death.
The number of patients in intensive care is 1814 today. 985 of these patients are breathing artificially. There has been a significant decrease in both our intensive care patients and intubated patients. Together with 1559 citizens who overcame the disease, the number of recovering patients has reached 16,477 today.”
“We reduced our intensive care bed occupancy rate to 60 percent”
Sharing a graph showing the occupancy rates of ward beds, intensive care beds and ventilators during his speech, Minister Koca said: “As soon as the pandemic started, we postponed the treatment of our patients who could be treated later, for non-emergency patients. In this way, we prepared for the pandemic by providing a serious relief in our hospitals.”
Koca underlined that bed occupancy rates were reduced from 70 percent to 30 percent during this period and continued as follows:
“We have reduced our intensive care bed occupancy rates, which were close to 80 percent, to 60 percent. Despite the pandemic, both our ward and intensive care rooms are not even as full as they were before the pandemic. This numerical information reveals how our hospitals are prepared for the fight against the pandemic.
If we have not experienced the dramatic scenes that European countries and America have faced, the reason is clear. None of the results in Turkey are a surprise for those who know the background. In many countries of the world, unfortunately, we have seen that patients are tried to be treated in stadiums, shopping malls and fairgrounds. Moreover, the OECD average is close to twice the number of beds in Turkey. In this period, although our number of beds is almost half of the OECD average, we continue this service with 30 percent occupancy. This is extremely important to show how much we have lightened the burden on hospitals and how successful we have achieved in treatment.”
Stating that comparing the intensive care bed occupancy rate in Europe with the intensive care bed occupancy rate in Turkey reveals an interesting result, Koca said, “For the general bed occupancy rate, our country is in a very good condition. In other words, only one out of every three ward beds in Turkey is occupied, two are empty. Considering that in Europe, all beds are full and patients are cared for in stadiums, shopping malls and fairgrounds, the difference will be very clear. We even know that patients in nursing homes and palliative care are not admitted to hospitals. We, on the other hand, treat our patients in nursing homes by taking our citizens in the nursing home, who are in contact other than the positive ones, to the hospital environment.”
‘The rate of pneumonia cases in Turkey has decreased day by day’
Sharing graphs on Covid-19 cases in Turkey and the world, Koca gave information on the rate of conversion of cases to pneumonia in Turkey and said:
“In Turkey, the rate of cases becoming pneumonia has decreased day by day. The rate of conversion of cases to pneumonia has decreased from 60 percent to 12 percent. The picture in our patients now turns into pneumonia at a much lower rate. This is an important picture that shows that we diagnose the disease early and apply a fast and early successful treatment.”
Pointing out that the critical situation is the development of pneumonia, Koca explained that the lower this rate is, the lower the mortality rate and the rate of intubated patients in intensive care.
“Turkey has the lowest mortality rate with 2.3 percent”
Minister Koca also showed graphs of mortality rates by country, which are directly related to pneumonia, and said:
“The mortality rates are 5.3 percent in the US, 10.5 percent in Spain, 13.2 percent in Italy, 3.5 percent in Germany, 13.5 percent in the UK, 17.3 percent in France, 5.5 percent in China, 14.7 percent in Belgium, and 2.3 percent in Turkey. In this table, you can see that Turkey has one of the lowest mortality rates at 2.3 percent. This proves that we control the disease before the symptoms progress and apply an effective treatment.”
Koca said that when we look at the course of average deaths in the world, Turkey follows a similar course to China. “We clearly see a picture that is gradually increasing in the world but stabilizing in Turkey,” Koca said, adding that there was a rising course in the first one or two weeks of Covid-19 in Turkey, but after changing the algorithm and activating the treatment in the early period, mortality rates gradually decreased and stabilized.
Citing examples from different countries, Koca said:
“It is more clearly seen how much England has exceeded the world average. It continues to raise the world average uncontrollably. While Germany was low at first, you can see how it has been in parallel with the world average in recent weeks. Italy, on the other hand, has a dramatic increase that is raising the world average. As the health infrastructure has collapsed and the elderly population is high, we see that the death rates here have risen very high and raised the world average. Similar to Italy, Spain also has a mortality graph that far exceeds the world average and raises the average. The US, on the other hand, has been different from all other countries. It suddenly went above the world average and raised the average. Then it fell below the average and after that we see that it is on an upward trend again.”
“Intubated patients dropped from 58 percent to 10 percent”
Stating that the mortality rates in the world and the course of these mortality rates in Turkey can be seen in the tables, Koca also touched upon the death rates in intensive care units. Koca emphasized that with the success in early diagnosis and treatment, the death rates of those who enter intensive care and those who are connected to a respirator have decreased.
Minister Koca drew special attention to the recent decrease in the number of intensive care patients and continued his words as follows:
“If we had not been so prepared, if we had not taken the measures on time, there would have been very high death rates in many of the risky groups. Our picture today would not be very different from that of the US and Europe. We would be talking about the number of deaths, perhaps in the tens of thousands.
In this period, we see that the rate of deaths in intensive care has decreased from 74 percent, and the rate of intubated patients has decreased from 58 percent to 14 percent or even 10 percent. This is a striking example of how successful we have achieved in treatment. I would like to emphasize that 50 percent of intubated cases are still lost in the world.”
“8 percent of those who lost their lives were younger than 60 years old”
Emphasizing that no one has the power to say, “Nothing will happen to me in this epidemic,” Minister Koca said, “8 percent of those who lost their lives are people under the age of 60 and without any other illness. The coronavirus has also defeated these healthy bodies. Therefore, in this sense, it is necessary to take precautions in every age group.”
Koca noted the following:
“As stated by our President, our gradual normalization will be thanks to following the rules and acting in accordance with the measures. We are determining a strategy according to the simulation we have prepared based on our mathematical modeling and mobility maps we have made in comparison with the years. The course of the disease in Turkey continues as we have predicted. We continue our measures in this direction.
As long as we follow the rules and act consciously, the normalization schedule will not be delayed. Our gradual transition to normalization during and after Eid depends on our strict implementation of the announced measures. Hope is the right word for all of us in the current circumstances. But no hope should turn into a threat.”
“We must strictly enforce the curfew”
Emphasizing the importance of getting to know the virus and the disease better every day and gaining awareness in the fight against it, Minister Koca stated that it is necessary to be informed about how the disease progresses and its most severe manifestations.
Pointing out that every information learned will be a justification for precautions, Koca said, “We should not compromise on isolation and social distance rule. We must apply the curfew to the letter. This is not a ban, but an opportunity. We will decide how the pandemic will progress from this point onwards with the measures we implement. How the epidemic will progress will be possible with our strict adherence to our measures.”
“We should not use Ramadan as an excuse to relax measures”
Health Minister Koca also made the following call to citizens regarding Ramadan, which will start on Friday:
“Ramadan brings its own vitality and social life. But I think the most special and main thing it brings is that it gives people the power to take them out of their daily habits. It is a test of obeying a decision or breaking it. This is exactly what we need these days. For those of us who are fasting, I hope that the days of Ramadan will be a training ground for a much stricter observance of the precautions we recommend. We should not use Ramadan as an excuse to relax our precautions. Let us postpone the crowded iftar meals, social gatherings and Ramadan conversations until next year. Let this month of mercy not end in illness.”
“Turkey has taken a step to help the UK for the second time”
“A new study in China has revealed that the coronavirus has mutated dozens of times since last year and has spread to at least 30 different strains of varying severity. The most deadly strain was also reported in Europe. Based on this, is the coronavirus currently sweeping the world mutating and changing according to countries, and if so, what is the type of virus seen in Turkey?” Upon the question, Minister Koca said that they know that different mutations occur in different regions and that this mutation does not affect the virulence and contagiousness of the disease much at the moment.
Minister Koca stated that they will make the necessary announcement when more detailed studies on the mutation are received in the coming days.
A member of the press reminded that Germany gave approval for the first clinical trial for the Covid-19 vaccine and the UK Minister of Health announced that the vaccine developed by Oxford University will be tested on humans starting tomorrow, and asked how he evaluated these studies and how the vaccine development work in Turkey is progressing, Minister Koca stated that the vaccine development work in Turkey continues in 6 centers, the isolation of the virus has been achieved in 3 centers and that they will inform as new developments at this point.
Pointing out that the UK has made progress in the application of the vaccine to humans, Koca said that he met with the UK Minister of Health today and that the two countries discussed the general situation and shared experiences.
Stating that the UK had some requests regarding protective equipment and that they gave permission yesterday, Koca continued as follows:
“Turkey has taken a step to help the UK for the second time. In the following process, both the UK and our scientists will have an approach in mutual exchange of information and especially experience sharing. When we asked about the vaccine, they said that it will be applied tomorrow, but when we asked when this vaccine can be used if everything goes well in general, they stated that if everything goes well, it is not possible to use it before September.”
“Honestly, we don’t expect a new wave”
When asked when normalization will begin and whether there is any concern about the danger of a second wave if citizens comply with the measures and everything proceeds as planned, Koca said that if the rules of contact, distance and isolation are strictly followed, they have the opportunity to say the timetable in front of them more easily.
Koca stated the following:
“We are saying that we should turn the unique mobility of Ramadan into an opportunity and spend this period in an effort to comply with these rules and measures. If it continues to be in this framework, we do not expect a new wave. In other words, a new wave is directly proportional to our compliance with the measures. But we know that some of our provinces are more risky. Therefore, we may take different approaches in some of our provinces in the coming period. This is entirely determined by the distribution of the number of cases in those regions and provinces in the following period.”
In response to a press member’s question about a New York Times article claiming that there has been a significant increase in the number of deaths in Istanbul this year compared to the last two years, that Turkey is hiding its data, and that there were 2,100 more deaths between March 9 and April 12 compared to the average of last year, and the news that some physicians working in private health institutions were put on unpaid leave, Koca replied, “I don’t know about the issue of being put on leave, I don’t think so, because we know that there is intensity during this period.”
Regarding the allegations made by the New York Times, Minister Koca said, “The news in question is a news article that is specifically constructed against Turkey. Until today, we have transparently provided all information to the WHO as requested by the WHO, and we continue to do so.”
Stating that two codes of the World Health Organization were mentioned and that these two codes did not exist until two weeks ago, Koca noted the following:
“In other words, we are entering the 5th month of the pandemic and during this period, the world was not reporting with these two codes. So what was it reporting with? The world was making this notification with the verified corona code. Why there was a change two weeks ago. The question came up that there were countries that could not perform the PCR test because it was spreading, and how these countries would make this notification. A second code was defined for places where the PCR test could not be performed. The world has not notified the World Health Organization with two code definitions since two weeks. In other words, the whole world gave the confirmed diagnosis of the PCR test two weeks ago and continued to do so after this change. It has opened the other code for countries that cannot perform the PCR test. Therefore, there is no problem in this sense.”
Koca reminded that the Sanitary Hygiene Board decided on March 30 and the Provincial Administration decided on March 26 not to bury those with a death certificate outside the province, and said that those who died in Istanbul were buried in Istanbul instead of their hometowns, so there may be crowds in some cemeteries.
Stating that what needs to be looked at is the death rates in Turkey, Koca said:
“In 2019, the total number of deaths in Turkey was 152,289. The rate of increase in annual deaths in the last 5 years is 2.89 per year. So in the last 5 years, including 2019, we have seen an increase in deaths by 2.89 percent. Based on the number of deaths of 152,289 in 2019, 156,684 expected deaths in 2020 with this average annual increase in deaths. I am saying between January 1 and April 20. I am saying it for both 2019 and 2020. While it was 152 thousand 289 in 2019, I am saying 156 thousand 684 expected in 2020, adding the rate of increase. Well, the number of actual deaths is 153 thousand 766. 156 thousand 684 expected, 153 thousand 766 actual between January 1 and April 20. Where is the increase?”
“The issuers of the certificate are physicians we can all trust”
“It is the physician working in that institution who issues the death certificate. The Ministry does not make that diagnosis from here. It is our physicians, whom we all trust, who issue the certificate.” Koca said the following:
“In terms of the number of beds in the world, Europe has nearly twice as many beds as we do and cannot find a place in these beds. They follow patients at fairs, shopping malls and stadiums, and do not admit their nursing home and palliative patients to hospitals. We, on the other hand, follow our patients in both nursing homes and palliative care in our hospitals to the end, including their contacts, and our bed occupancy rate is 30 percent.”
“How do you expect high mortality rates in Turkey with such a low bed occupancy rate?” Koca asked, emphasizing that this is the success of Turkey’s healthcare system and one million 100 thousand healthcare workers.
“We are not America, we are not England, we are not Germany”
Stating that healthcare professionals should be trusted and Turkey’s healthcare system should be proud of, Koca said, “Be sure that our healthcare professionals, especially our physicians, have written an epic during this period.”
Stating that they will prove this with publications in the coming weeks, Koca said, “Still America, still Europe, still Scandinavian countries do not treat the patient with a symptom, cough, symptom in a health institution. They stay at home for 14 days and apply to the hospital when they have respiratory distress, but we say to our patients, ‘We do not have a high burden in our health institutions, if you have any symptoms in this sense, please do not wait at home, please apply to these institutions early, we are not America, we are not England, we are not Germany, in this sense, please trust and be proud of Turkey’s health system and its physicians and employees.”
‘We say to our elders and young people, ‘A little more patience”
In response to a question on whether health personnel will be recruited for the Başakşehir City Hospital, the first phase of which has been put into service, and the hospitals under construction in Istanbul, Minister Koca said that they had recently recruited approximately 37 thousand health personnel and that they would be distributed to their duty stations shortly.
Minister Koca also said that when the Başakşehir City Hospital is fully operational on May 20, 3,750 health personnel and 480 doctors will be working there.
In response to a question about whether people over the age of 65 and under the age of 20 who are under curfew restrictions will be able to go out on certain days, Minister Koca said:
“Our youth and elders made great sacrifices during this period. With the curfew restriction, the rate of positive cases over the age of 65 dropped from 38 percent to 17 percent. This result is important in terms of how successful we were in the measures taken and how we protected our elders. This issue was on the agenda of the Scientific Committee, but we have entered an important period. In these days when the number of cases is decreasing, we see that intensive care, hospitalization and intubated patients are decreasing in many hospitals. For this reason, it was generally thought in the board, ‘Let’s spend a few more weeks with patience’. We say to our elders and young people, ‘A little more patience’. Hopefully, we will quickly transition to spring in the near future.”
Minister Koca was also asked whether physician candidates who are a few months away from graduation will be assigned to work in the field due to the pandemic.
Stating that the need for physicians emerged all over the world due to the outbreak, and that what they could do in the face of a possible situation in Turkey was on their agenda in the first days of the spread of the virus, Koca said, “I can very easily say that the bed occupancy rate in our health institutions is around 30 percent during this period. We have a shortage of physicians in general, but we see that we do not have a serious problem for the epidemic. For this reason, we do not consider the approach of graduating physician candidates early and utilizing them as soon as possible, as it is done all over the world, since we do not need them.”
In response to a question, Minister Koca stated that they will be able to make an assessment regarding the opening of schools after seeing how much the measures to be taken during Ramadan are complied with, as well as the continuation of the decrease in the number of cases in the coming weeks.
Stating that the early opening of schools is out of the question, Koca said that the issue may come to the agenda of the Scientific Committee according to the course of the coming weeks.
Upon the statement that the metropolitan municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara reduced transportation services due to the curfew restrictions, Minister Koca said, “The main thing here is that the social distance can be maintained. For this, it is necessary to increase the number of trips, not decrease them. We do not believe that it is right to reduce the number of trips.”
Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/koronavirus/saglik-bakani-koca-veriler-bize-salginin-kontrolumuz-altinda-oldugunu-gosteriyor/1814858
