Turkish Health Minister's acknowledgement of publishing only symptomatic cases prompts outrage

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca's acknowledgement that the government did not publish the full number of daily positive COVID-19 cases but only those who are symptomatic prompted outrage in the country. "You didn't carry out the process transparently. We've been saying this for six months. You hid the truth. You didn't prevent the outbreak from spreading," the Turkish Medical Association said in a tweet on Sept. 30.

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Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca's acknowledgement that the government did not publish the full number of daily positive COVID-19 cases but only those who are symptomatic prompted outrage in the country.

Thousands of Twitter users asked the government to reveal the actual number of cases following Koca's revelation. Various opposition parties and groups have been calling on the government to be transparent since the beginning of the pandemic.

"You didn't carry out the process transparently. We've been saying this for six months. You hid the truth. You didn't prevent the outbreak from spreading," the Turkish Medical Association said in a tweet on Sept. 30.

Koca on Sept. 30 said the number of daily new COVID-19 "patients," which he defined as those who are symptomatic, was more important than the number of new "cases," which include those who do not show symptoms.

"Not all cases are patients because there are those who show no symptoms at all even though their tests come back positive. These create the vast majority," he said.

The Health Ministry changed the wording of the data it shares daily in July. As of July 29, the data showed the daily number of new "patients," while prior to that it showed the daily number of new "cases."

Turkish Health Ministry has only been publishing symptomatic coronavirus cases, says ministerTurkish Health Ministry has only been publishing symptomatic coronavirus cases, says minister

A document shared by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Murat Emir on Sept. 29 purportedly showed the number of positive cases on Sept. 10 were 29,377, compared to the 1,512 new patients announced by the Health Ministry on that day.

Emir said the document was a screenshot of the Health Ministry's official laboratory results portal, which is inaccessible by the public.

Koca said the ministry did not have such an interface, that the document showed the wrong number of tests conducted on that day and that it had no date on it.

"I want to say that all the information on the table we give is correct," he said.

The death toll from coronavirus in Turkey stood at 8,195 as of Sept. 30.

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Following Koca's statements, Emir asked who will be held accountable for hiding the truth.

"Minister Koca finally admitted that the positive cases who don't show symptoms are not included in the daily chart. Who will take responsibility for stalling the people by revealing a very small part of the truth?" Emir asked on Sept. 30.

Another CHP deputy, Özgür Özel, said that Koca's acknowledgement is a "confession that the state lies to its citizens."

"Hiding the severity of the situation is the main reason that the struggle against the virus is not successful," Özel tweeted on Oct. 1.

"Is there any other country that hides asymptomatic positive cases?" he asked.

Istanbul Medical Chamber also slammed the government, calling on authorities to "not play with our health."

"It's duty and responsibility of a scientist to inform the public appropriately. Tell the truth, be transparent and quit making politics," the chamber said.

Topics Turkey Turkish Ankara Turkish government Fahrettin Koca Turkish Health Ministry COVID-19 patient COVID-19 outbreak Istanbul Medical Chamber COVID-19 testing COVID-19 Turkey Turkish Medical