Turkey: Coronavirus cases rising, Lira falling

Doctors are talking about multiplying the officially issued numbers by a factor of 2 or 3 to get a realistic picture of the pandemic in Turkey.

The number of people infected with Covid-19 in Turkey is rising dramatically. As the main reason for this sharp rise, analysts cite the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) last weekend, which led many families to travel to the tourist regions on the coast. In addition, there is an increasing carelessness in dealing with pandemic restrictions and regulations.

The Turkish Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca, is trying to whitewash the number of cases and announces about 1,000 cases for the whole of Turkey. The chairman of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Sinan Adiyaman contradicts this, saying: "They do not reflect reality". The medical association in Ankara (ATO) warns of a dramatic increase in new infections. In Ankara alone, the number of cases is over 1,000, and other doctors are talking about multiplying the officially issued numbers by a factor of 2 or 3 to get a realistic picture. According to the Turkish Medical Association, the capacity of the pandemic hospitals for the care of Covid-19 patients is also exhausted. Various media warn of an imminent collapse of the healthcare system.

The Turkish government has fought hard to attract more tourists to the country, hoping to obtain urgently needed foreign currency for the costly wars. Yet the resurgent pandemic could put a damper on their plans. Although the dramatic decline of the Turkish currency, which reached a new all-time low against the dollar on Friday, makes Turkey holidays a bargain. However, most tourists have long since decided not to fill the war chest with foreign currency because of the Turkish government's war policy.