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In an open letter to Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca, Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Central Council Chair Prof. Sinan Adıyaman has raised concerns that 32 physicians have died of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Turkey so far and expressed the TTB's demand to meet the Minister in person and discuss the steps to be taken against the pandemic.
The letter of the association reads as follows:
'5 physicians died in August'
"Mr. Minister, the number of physicians who lost their lives due to COVID-19 has reached 32, five of whom died in August.
"As our recommendations and warnings were not taken into consideration and necessary arrangements were not done till today, our country unfortunately has one of the highest rates of health workers who contracted and died of the virus among world countries.
'A meeting in person is our historical responsibility'
"If what needs to be done is not done as soon as possible, we are concerned that the upcoming period will see an even more aggravated situation.
"We, as the TTB Central Council, want to meet you in person to discuss the practices to be adopted to prevent and curb the deaths and diseases in question. We are of the opinion that this exchange of opinions is reciprocally our historical responsibility.
"If, together with the TTB Central Council members, the TTB Specialty Associations Coordination Council and representatives from the specialty associations also attend our meeting, they will enable us to find a solution thanks to the scientific knowledge and experience of their specialties and contribute to the transparent and scientific proceeding of the process.
"We expect that you make the necessary effort to make this meeting in the shortest possible time before our losses increase even more." (EKN/SD)
