PodcastTurkey reduces COVID-19 exposure quarantine time from 2 weeks to 10 days
Turkey's Health Ministry has said that it is reducing the COVID-19 quarantine period for asymptomatic exposures from 14 days to 10. The ministry has also said that the quarantine may end at the end of the seventh day if the person's COVID-19 test came back negative and they have shown no symptoms in that time.
Duvar English
Turkey's Health Ministry on Dec. 7 announced that it was reducing the quarantine period for people in close contact with COVID-19 cases to 10 days from 14.
"People who had close contact stay in quarantine for 10 days. Quarantine of people who do not develop any symptoms during the quarantine period ends at the end of the 10th day without conducting a PCR test, but these people will continue taking the necessary precautions in public spaces," said the Health Ministry in a statement.
The ministry added that quarantine can end after seven days if the person has shown no symptoms in that time and if they test negative.
Meanwhile, Turkey's daily COVID-19 deaths rose to a record 203 in the last 24 hours, data from the Health Ministry showed on Dec. 7, bringing the country's total death toll to 15,103 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Turkey also recorded 32,137 new coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones, in the last 24 hours. For four months, Ankara only reported daily symptomatic cases but has reported all cases since Nov. 25. Historical data for all cases and the cumulative case total are still not available.
Turkey was on lockdown over the weekend to combat the recent surge in daily deaths and new infections. On 4 Turkey had 32,736 new cases, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
Despite the record daily death toll and high rate of new infections, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the measures were working but urged citizens to implement their own restrictions and avoid crowds.
"The rate of increase for seriously ill patients is falling. The effect of the restrictions has started showing. We hope we will feel them more soon," Koca said on Twitter.
Bugün tespit edilen 6.093 yeni hastamız var. Ağır hasta sayısındaki artış hızı azalma eğiliminde. Tedbirler ve kısıtlamaların etkisini görmeyi ümit ediyoruz. Tedbirlere uymak hepimiz için insani bir görevdir. Kısıtlama olmadan da kalabalıklardan uzak durun https://t.co/RVlhe7786O
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) December 6, 2020
Opposition lawmakers have expressed skepticism about whether the official death toll reflects the true picture in the country of 83 million people, questioning how numbers in Istanbul could be almost as high as those reported for the whole nation.
Turkey has signed a contract to buy 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. It is expected to begin vaccinations this month, prioritizing health workers.
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