Turkey’s coronavirus death toll reaches 1,101 with 52,167 cases

Duvar English

Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 95 to total 1,101 and new confirmed cases rose by 5,138 to bring the country’s total to 52,167, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on April 11.

The number of recovered cases stood at 2,965, with 542 recoveries in the last 24 hours, and the number of tests carried out in that time was 33,170, Koca said on Twitter, sharing the Health Ministry's link for daily updates of coronavirus figures.  

Turkey is currently treating 1,626 patients in intensive care units, according to the figures.

Turkish Interior Ministry late on April 10 imposed a two-day curfew in 31 large cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir, in response to the spread of Covid-19.

The Turkish public largely obeyed the curfew on the first day on April 11, said the Interior Ministry.

“Almost all of the 63.64 million citizens in 31 provinces have abided by the curfew decision by staying home,” the ministry said in a written statement. Turkey has a population of some 82 million.

It added that 2,756 people who violated the rule since it went into effect as of April 10 midnight were subject to administrative and procedural penalties.

“Critical needs such as bread are being met by social support groups, local administrations, mukhtars [neighborhood leaders], and bakery proprietors,” it said.

Meanwhile, several members of opposition parties have criticized the government for announcing the decision of the 48-hour curfew only two hours left to lockdown. The sudden announcement late on April 10 led to panic, with crowds rushing to markets and bakeries and flouting social distancing advice.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu said the municipality was not notified of the government's decision and such unilateral sudden decisions result in panic.

“The decision of curfew should not be taken all of a sudden. As the İBB [Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality], we have not been notified of this critical decision. We do not even know which of the services we will be providing tomorrow in Istanbul. Every decision which is not given with a common mind and cooperation only causes confusion and panic,” İmamoğlu said.