Burcu YILDIRIM
Ankara
Turkish Medical Association (TMA) Central Council Chair Sinan Adıyaman, pointing out that the coronavirus epidemic was spreading fast, while the virus was doing so out of control, summed up the state of play in the epidemic by saying, “You’re kidding no one anymore.”
Adıyaman said the 100,000 tests conducted were unconvincing, while hospitals were under such pressure that doctors were having to choose which patients to place in intensive care.
Indicating that some patients who had been sent home turned back up again one day later at hospitals in a dire condition and either remained in emergency services for lack of places or soon became mortalities, Adıyaman said even the data they had obtained from a few provinces exceeded the daily number of cases announced by the Ministry.
Adıyaman called on Science Committee members, for their part, to decide in line with scientific data even if the Ministry paid no heed.
“WE ARE MANAGING TO MAKE NO HEADWAY IN THE PANDEMIC”
Describing the current state of play as one in which the epidemic was spreading fast among people, while the virus was doing so out of control, TMA Chair Sinan Adıyaman said, “We are not in a good place and the Health Ministry’s strategy has clearly come off the rails.”
Stating that the increase in case numbers coincided with the reopening, Adıyaman commented, “The citizen is blamed for the increase in cases but, with the epidemic having reached this stage, the role of the weakness of public measures is considerable. If you, on the public side, withdraw from everything and leave the fight against the epidemic entirely to individuals, then there will actually remain nothing in place worthy of calling combatting the virus. This is where Turkey is just now.”
Noting that unfortunately we are not managing to make any headway in the pandemic, Adıyaman said, “The number of cases, haven fallen to 600 on 2 June, went back on the increase to return to the 1500’s as measures were abruptly lifted.”
“THE 100,000 TESTS CONDUCTED ARE UNCONVINCING”
Stating that the 100,000 tests conducted recently were deceptive, Adıyaman had the following to say in this regard:
“Half these tests are conducted on those going abroad. There is talk of the remainder having been done to footballers, parliamentarians, private political groups and even staff at the Presidency. So, the number of tests given to the normal population is not very large. We want health workers, fighting on the front line against the pandemic, to be tested once a week, but not even this is done.”
“DOCTORS ARE FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN PATIENTS”
Indicating that no space remained in the pandemic service at many hospitals in Ankara and new pandemic services were being opened at the Şehir Hospital and Hacettepe, Gazi and Ankara Medical Faculties, Adıyaman, saying, “There has been a big increase in the number of patients applying to emergency services and pandemic policlinics and we can’t do triage. I mean, patients come to emergency, are diagnosed with Covid but there’s no room to admit them. Some of them are intensive care cases but there’s no room for admissions in intensive care. Absent space in intensive care, patients are admitted to normal internal services. Doctors are choosing which patients to place in intensive care,” commented that the situation experienced at one time in Italy was also gradually coming to pass in Turkey.
Adıyaman pointed out that some patients who had been sent home turned back up again one day later at hospitals in a dire condition and either remained in emergency services for lack of places or soon became mortalities.
“NO TRUST REMAINS IN MINISTERIAL FIGURES”
Commenting that the people had no trust in data released by the Ministry and this came down to, “You’re kidding no one anymore,” Adıyaman said, “Not just the information we obtain from health people, but comments on figures by Ankara, Rize, Erzurum and Malatya governates, Konya and Ankara Provincial Directorates of Health, the Mayor of Adıyaman and, most importantly, Istanbul and Ankara Metropolitan Mayors are very significant. None of these tie in with the Ministry’s depictions and we can see that these announced figures are more serious.”
Saying the number of daily positive cases in Ankara was in the 1500’s according to information emanating from contact tracing teams, Adıyaman remarked, “News of 600 daily cases is coming from Batman, 350 from Diyarbakır and 400 from İzmir.”
“NOT ENOUGH FLU SHOTS”
Indicating that the flu epidemic would also start in the autumn months and the symptoms of this were very similar to Covid-19, Adıyaman cautioned, “All over-65’s in Turkey, citizens having secondary ailments and health workers should get flu shots. To this end, some ten million vaccines are needed, but nothing as yet is in the offing. When the flu epidemic combines with Covid, cases may go up further.”
“THE SCIENCE COMMITTEE MUST REVEAL WHAT IT THINKS”
Saying it was high time the Science Committee to comment, Adıyaman said, “They should at least comment on what they think about where the epidemic has come. Something has got to be done. It will either be heeded by the Ministry or not, but it must decide in line with scientific data.”
“THE OPENING OF SCHOOLS HAS ALSO BEEN LEFT TO ITS OWN DEVICES”
Stressing that the ratio of case numbers to the population in countries where schools had opened was less than one in one hundred thousand, Adıyaman recalled, “This is currently around ten per cent in Turkey, while it is seventeen percent in the provinces of the region. There is no apparent criterion, but there is a sense that schools will open on 21 September. I ask, if 5,000 new cases emerge on 20 September will you open the schools? Just as with epidemic management, the opening of schools has also been left to its own devices. There are infected teachers and school staff and great care must be exercised. The first wave was surmounted in Israel and schools opened. A bigger wave than the first came out of a high school.”
Repeating the call cooperation to be engaged in with the Health Ministry, Adıyaman said, “The anti-epidemic fight has been derailed. I once more call out from here: We need to meet and talk with the Ministry without delay and sort this business out together.”
Hediye Levent
Yusuf Karadaş