Only 40 percent of Turks trust government's pandemic management: AKP survey

Duvar English

A recent survey conducted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) revealed that only 40 percent of the population trusts the government's management of the health crisis, down from 73 percent in March, the daily Hürriyet reported on Feb. 8.

Coincidentally, the portion of the population who have to go into work in person has increased from 18 percent in April to 35 percent in January.

Only 24 percent of the population thinks that life can return to pre-pandemic normal in a year, while 48 percent don't want to receive a vaccination, the survey revealed. 

Some 42 percent of respondents in western Turkey reported having a family member who got infected, while this number spiked to 64 percent among respondents in eastern Turkey.

Meanwhile, at least 72 residents of western Edirne were infected with COVID-19 after the AKP held a provincial meeting in the area, which 47 of the new patients attended, opposition Good (İYİ) Party member Hüseyin Erbay said. 

The Şafak neighborhood of Süloğlu district noted 72 diagnoses among 300 residents after the meeting, even though they had not been infected at such large numbers in the year that's passed, Erbay said. 

"We didn't have any issues for a year, but there was a boom after the meeting. 1,500 to 2,000 people were stuffed in a room," Erbay said.

Erbay also noted that Roma residents are suffering from the lockdown placed on Şafak neighborhood as they've been robbed of work, and they made a living on daily wages pre-pandemic.