Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca, at a press conference at the Ministry, announced that the test result of a citizen with suspected coronavirus in Turkey was positive.
Minister Koca, in his statement, said that although the new type of coronavirus, which emerged 90 days ago in Wuhan, China, on December 12, 2019, infected many other countries within 1-2 weeks, followed by a very rapid global spread, Turkey achieved great success in the process. He said it showed.
Reminding that neighboring countries and European countries do not implement the strict measures taken by Turkey, Koca said, "Our resistance in the strategy and disciplined action plan we carry out against the epidemic has not decreased at all, it has increased many times."
Pointing out that global epidemics have inevitable sides, Koca continued as follows:
“The reason I'm here now is the transparency we've shown so far and the assurance that it will continue. I want to tell you the sad but not scary news. The test result of a citizen with suspected coronavirus was positive in the evening today.
The diagnosis was made as a result of investigating the cause of high fever and cough complaints. It is known that the patient got the virus through European contact. Completely isolated from the outside world. The patient is a male and his general condition is good. All family members and all individuals in their immediate surroundings are under surveillance in this sense and each of them has been considered a suspect. It was not found appropriate to share detailed information in order to protect patient privacy. This is the first case seen in our country. According to the data, the diagnosis was made early.”
Emphasizing that Turkey was ready for this possibility throughout the process and took measures to prevent the spread, Koca stated that the preparations for the health personnel and the hospital were finished long before the disease could be seen anywhere in the country.
“We planned the fight against the coronavirus”
Stating that while warning the world, they are also preparing and planning to fight against the coronavirus, Minister Koca said:
“What we expect from our citizens is to give strength to this struggle by following the 14-day rule and 14 protection rules. One or more cases should not be considered an epidemic. This only means that the virus has entered the borders of our country. It was highly probable and it happened. What we need to do now is to organize our lives in line with the measures. We will wage a national struggle against this global problem. The risk is concrete, the measures are simple. The coronavirus is not stronger than the measures to be taken. I would like to state that a patient is not a total risk, and a quarantined patient cannot threaten society.”