4 yıl önce

Turkey to declare asymptomatic Covid-19 cases next week

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says the number of asymptomatic cases will be declared from October 15.

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"We will share the cross-sectional screening results even though they show no symptoms. We will report these to the WHO," Fahrettin Koca says.

Turkey will start declaring the number of asymptomatic Covid-19 cases from October 15, the health minister has said, following criticism that its disclosure of only symptomatic cases hid the extent of infections.

"We will start (releasing all the numbers) on 15th," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in an interview with daily newspaper Hurriyet.

"We will share the cross-sectional screening results even though they show no symptoms. We will report these to the World Health Organization."

Cross-sectional screening tests are being conducted at airports, prisons, and people going abroad among others, Koca said.

Turkey to continue field screening tests

At the end of July, Turkey changed the wording of its daily coronavirus report to show the number of "patients" instead of "cases."

At a news conference on September 30, Koca said that the government was only sharing the number of Covid-19 positive cases with symptoms.

Medics and opposition parties criticised the practice, saying the real scale of the pandemic remained unknown.

Turkey will continue to conduct field screening tests for coronavirus cases, Koca added.

Turkey has reported 1,500 symptomatic coronavirus patients a day in recent weeks on average, while total deaths due to the respiratory disease stands at 8,778, according to Health Ministry data.

SOURCE: Reuters