Turkey imposes new coronavirus restrictions on elderly in Ankara as cases surge

Turkey imposes new coronavirus restrictions on elderly in Ankara as cases surge
Residents over the age of 65 are only allowed to leave their homes between the hours of 10am and 4pm.
2 min read
11 November, 2020
Turkey's coronavirus cases are surging [Getty]

Turkey on Tuesday introduced further coronavirus restrictions on elderly citizens in the capital Ankara as the number of cases continue to rise in the country.

Residents over the age of 65 years are not allowed to leave their homes for non-essential outings, except between the times of 10am and 4pm, Ankara's authorities said.

The Turkish health ministry announced that Turkey's daily Covid-19 cases increased by 2,529 on Tuesday, raising the total number in the country to 399,360.

Eighty-seven people died within the 24 hour period, raising the death toll to 11,059.

A total of 2,215 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 342,501 in Turkey since the pandemic. 

Read also: The future of medical tourism in Turkey: How coronavirus stalled a booming industry

The rate of pneumonia in Covid-19 patients is 4.2 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 3,001.

A total of 146,198 tests were conducted in the past day, bringing the overall number of tests to 15,419,420.

'Ill-reporting statistics'

The rise in statistics comes as Turkey received condemnation, including from the World Health Organisation, for not reporting their coronavirus cases accurately.

In September, Turkey's health minister revealed that the daily Covid-19 figures published by the ministry since 29 July reflected only patients with symptoms, excluding asymptomatic positive cases.

Critics questioned the veracity of the case and death toll numbers Turkey has reported during the pandemic.

Days after the announcement, the WHO in a statement commended Turkey on its increased testing capacity and contact tracing efforts. It said, "Turkey has been isolating all Covid-19 positive cases, regardless of their symptoms".

It added that the WHO has been consulting with members, including Turkey, to improve reporting and data collection.

The WHO defines confirmed cases as "a person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection, irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms".

Mid-October, Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told the newspaper Hurriyet that asymptomatic cases would be included in Turkey's published data from 15 October, which would be shared with the World Health Organisation.

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