Turkey Reports 1,114 New Covid-19 Cases, Ministry Adviser Warns Epidemic Not Over

People queue up in a shopping mall after reopening. (Photo: AA)
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The Health Ministry today (May 11) reported 55 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total tally to 3,841. The total cases in the country climbed to 139,771 with 1,114 cases over the past 24 hours.
Total recoveries topped 95,000 as 3,089 people were discharged from treatment in a day.
The total number of coronavirus tests exceeded 1,4 million while 32,722 tests were conducted since yesterday's update. The number of tests does not reflect the number of tested people as patients may be repeatedly tested during the course of their treatment.
The number of intensive care patients stand at 1,126 and 578 patients are on ventilators.
"Social distance is the new normal"
Although Turkey has eased some measures amid the decrease in the number of new cases, the coronavirus outbreak is not over yet, said a member of the Health Ministry's Science Committee.
Speaking about Turkey's steps to ease lockdown,Dr. Selma Metintaş said people have to maintain social distance.
"Everywhere we go, we have to continue observing social distance. Social distance is the new normal. Even though malls will reopen, we shouldn't allow dense crowds, and be in them. We need to wash hands frequently, that is also our new normal," she said.
Barbers, coiffeurs, and shopping malls opened in the country today.
Reiterating the importance of using face masks, the doctor said we can use cloth masks in our daily lives, but if we are going to a hospital, or will be in contact with someone with Covid-19, we should use medical masks.
Carrying disinfectants, colognes, and refraining from touching our face should also be our daily routine from now on, she added.
"If case numbers continuously drop for at least 14 days, while the number of tests are increasing, that means we can ease daily life restrictions and continue normalization. But this does not mean going back to life before Covid-19. Until a vaccine is found, measures will always continue on different scales," Metintaş added.
More than 4.1 million cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since the virus emerged in China last December. The US and Europe are the world's hardest-hit areas.
Daily cases and deaths 11 March: 1 case 1 April: 2148 cases, 63 deaths (14.396 tests) 1 May: 2188 cases, 84 deaths (41.431 tests) |
(EKN/VK)