Turkey: Coronavirus spread rate down by one third

By Tanju Ozkaya

ANKARA (AA) - The rate of infection by the novel coronavirus in Turkey has fallen by over a third from %15 to %9 in the past week, despite rising test numbers, with recoveries surging by more than three fold.

As a result of 598,933 test conducted since March 10 -- the beginning of the outbreak in Turkey -- 82,329 patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. Since then, 1,890 people died, while 10,453 patients recovered.

The death rate from the virus since the first fatality on March 17 until April 18 was 2.29%. When multiple patients died for the first time on March 19, the ratio of deaths to cases was 1.2%. The rate had increased to 1.7% by the end of March, with 2,704 cases and 46 fatalities.

On April 11, when the highest number of daily cases were detected, this rate was recorded as %1.85.

- Increasing test numbers

Healthcare professionals are testing more people for COVID-19 by the day to identify and isolate positive cases. At the beginning of the outbreak, tests were only conducted on those who came from abroad or who had been in contact with such individuals. Later, with the decision of Turkey's Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, health staff also began testing people who showed symptoms of the coronavirus. At the current stage, coronavirus tests are conducted for any who had been contact with a confirmed case.

Testings for the coronavirus is offered free of charge in hospitals affiliated to the Health Ministry, as well as hospitals, universities and laboratories the ministry authorizes. As of March 19, when testing data was first disclosed, 1,981 people had undergone diagnostic tests. By the next day, this had increased to 3,656, reaching 9,882 in 10 days and 15,442 by the end of March. By April 18, the number of daily tests conducted had reached a record 40,520. In total, 598,933 tests had been conducted by Saturday.

- Case increase rate falls by %6

In Turkey, COVID-19 has been detected in 13.74% of people tested. In addition, despite the increase in the number of tests over the last week, the number of cases has decreased.

On April 11, when the number of tests was 33,170, authorities had reported that 5,138 people tested positive, on April 18, when 40,520 tests were performed, this figure dropped to 3,783.

According to the total number of tests, this rate, which was %15.4 on April 11, dropped to %9.3 on Saturday.

The falling incidence rate is seen as an indication that the virus under control and that people were complying with the measures against the pandemic.

Tests, case numbers and rates are as below:

- Number of recovered patients increase

The number of people discharged after being treated in hospitals in Turkey is continually rising.

Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on March 25 that 26 people, including two patients aged 60 and 65, were discharged from hospitals.

According to figures released by the ministry, the number of recovered patients has been increasing exponentially.

In the last week, the number of people who recovered tripling from 542 to 1,822. The total number of recoveries increased to 10,453.

These figures are as below:

- Intensive care, intubation down

Among the total number of patients, 1,894 are being treated under intensive care and 1,054 have been intubated.

According to the total number of cases, the rate of intensive care in the past week decreased from %3.11 to %2.3, and the proportion of intubated patients decreased from %1.95 to %1.28.

- Global situation

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 163,100 people, with total infections exceeding 2.36 million, while more than 609,500 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Burak Dag