In light of the corona virus in Turkey, the Erdogan government is placing strict restrictions on public life. All developments in the news ticker.
- Turkey has recognized the seriousness of the situation in the fight against the corona virus *.
- The government has taken numerous measures to curb the spread of the virus.
- Doctors fear the worst and lament failures.
- Here you will find our guide to corona reporting *. You can also find current case numbers in Germany here as a map *.
Update from April 10, 2020, 9:15 p.m .: In the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul , experts believe that beds in intensive care units will become scarce due to the spread of Covid-19 lung disease. "There are 4600 intensive care beds in Istanbul and 80 percent of them were occupied in just two to three days," said the head of the Turkish Medical Association TTB, Sinan Adiyaman, the German Press Agency.
"We were told that. And that will increase. ”It is known that there are many patients in Istanbul. Last week, 60 percent of all cases in Turkey had been reported there.
The newspaper “Cumhuriyet” reported something similar on Friday under the heading “Istanbul alarm: the intensive care beds are full”. In some places, operating rooms in intensive care units would be converted to be prepared for a sharp increase in cases.
Corona crisis in Turkey: 96 corona deaths in 24 hours - number of deaths increases to 908
Update at 8:43 pm: According to official information, the number of people who died of Covid-19 in Turkey has increased to a total of 908 . Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday evening that 96 people had died in the past 24 hours . In addition, another 4056 people tested positive for Corona.
The total number of infected people is now 42,282 . According to the government, around 2142 people have recovered so far. The number of daily tests has meanwhile been increased again, to around 28,500. Another good news: On Thursday, a government decree came into force that makes the treatment of corona infected free of charge , even in private clinics .
Update from April 9, 2020, 1:48 pm: Because he criticized and ironically commented on the behavior of the Turkish government in the Corona crisis , a Turkish moderator now has to answer in court. As reported by the state news agency Anadolu, President Erdogan's lawyer has filed for presidential insulting proceedings.
The reason for this is probably a tweet that the moderator Fatih Portakal ironically comments on a speech by Erdogan . After Erdogan had already asked citizens for donations to help them survive the corona crisis, Portakal pointed out that the president would soon also be looking to save the citizens in the banks.
Coronavirus in Turkey: death tolls rising - considerable doubts about official statistics
Update at 10:54 pm: According to official information, another 87 people have died from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours in Turkey . The total number of corona deaths rose to 812 , said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Wednesday evening. In addition, a further 4117 people had tested positive for the corona virus . This brings the total number of people infected to 38,226 .
Coronavirus in Turkey: Erdogan appeals to the population - but Covid-19 is spreading rapidly.
© Turkish Presidency / dpa
The number of tests has been increased to around 25,000 . According to the government, around 1,850 people have recovered so far. However, the Turkish medical association TTB doubts the official statistics , especially the number of officially recorded deaths. A statement published on Wednesday said it was "striking" that the number of Covid 19 cases was increasing, but the death graph was not corresponding. The Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association has determined that the ministry does not use the "codes" recommended by the WHO when reporting the deaths, the statement continued. These should be applied immediately and the deaths recorded since February must be checked, the TTB demanded.
Coronavirus in Turkey: Case numbers continue to increase
Update of April 8, 4:49 p.m .: Corona case numbers continue to rise in Turkey . Late Wednesday afternoon, Johns Hopkins University reported a total of 34,109 infections and 725 deaths from Covid-19 . A total of 1582 people recovered from a corona infection.
Since Wednesday, the number of corona infected has increased by 3892 people. In addition, 76 people have died of Covid-19 in two days.
Update of April 7, 5:14 pm: Due to the corona crisis, Turkish MPs have started the debate about a controversial draft law for the early release of up to 90,000 prisoners . Deputy CHP MP Sezgin Tanrikulu sharply criticized the draft on Tuesday in front of the Ankara parliament. This is not fair. The draft excludes prisoners such as the intellectual Osman Kavala and the pro-Kurdish opposition politician Selahattin Demirtas.
Erdogan's party is preparing for early release from prison for the corona virus in Turkey
The ruling party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had brought the draft into parliament last week with the support of the ultra-nationalist MHP. Accordingly, prisoners arrested for terrorist allegations, including many government critics and journalists, would be exempt from the regulation.
Update of April 6, 8:17 p.m .: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to build a hospital at the former Ataturk Airport in Istanbul because of the corona crisis. It should be completed in 45 days and have 1,000 rooms, Erdogan said in Ankara on Monday . A hospital of the same size is planned in Sancaktepe on the Asian side of the city.
Ataturk International Airport was closed to passenger traffic last year.
The officially reported number of infected people in the country has meanwhile increased to 30,217. Within 24 hours, 3148 people have tested positive, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter on Monday. In addition, 75 people had died, bringing the total number of deaths from infection to 649.
Corona crisis in Turkey: deaths are increasing - far-reaching consequences for soldiers in Syria
Update April 6, 10:45 am: Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus * in Turkey , the Ministry of Defense ordered extensive steps on Sunday evening. The movements of Turkish soldiers in neighboring Syria are to be restricted. The ministry's announcement announced a reduction in the number of personnel and troop movements that were not absolutely necessary. For this purpose, doctors were sent to areas where they offer training and sensitize the soldiers.
Turkey has a military presence in several northern areas of Syria. It launched an internationally heavily criticized military offensive against Kurdish militias in October, which it regards as terrorists. Since then, Turkey has controlled part of the border area there, and military patrols are planned in other parts of the north together with Russian troops. Turkey maintains numerous observation posts around the rebel stronghold Idlib. There is currently an armistice after an escalation of violence.
Germany meanwhile has more than 100,000 people infected with corona - Merkel spoke about the situation at a press conference. Meanwhile, criticism of Sweden's special path in the corona crisis is growing louder. Does it lead directly to a "catastrophe"?
Corona virus: Deaths are increasing in Turkey - the consulate has advice for the Germans in the country
Update April 5, 7:39 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Turkey has risen to more than 27,000. Health minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter via Twitter that 3135 people had tested positive within 24 hours.
The number of officially reported cases rose to 27,069. One day, 73 people died of Covid-19 lung disease, bringing the total death toll to 574.
Update April 5, 11:11 am: Turkey has tightened its measures in the fight against the corona virus in the past few days, but there are still more infected people there every day. The country currently has 23,934 corona infections and 501 people who died as a result of Covid 19 disease (source: Johns Hopkins University). 145 new deaths and almost 5,800 other infections were added within three days.
Update April 4, 1:20 pm: For Germans stuck in Turkey due to the Corona crisis, there are a few commercial flights home at short notice. That had been negotiated in the past few days after talks with airlines, the consulate general in Istanbul said on Saturday, among other things, on its Facebook page. Those interested have to organize the tickets themselves. The flights could be booked through the airlines' websites.
For example, a flight with the company Eurowings from Istanbul to Cologne-Bonn is already planned for Monday, April 6, the message said. In addition, the airline SunExpress plans to offer flights from Ankara, Antalya and Izmir to Düsseldorf in the coming week. They can be booked "at a later date".
The message from the Consulate General states: “We advise all those wishing to return to take advantage of the commercial offers available. A return program of the federal government, as also known from the media, is therefore not planned for Turkey. "
Meanwhile, doubts about RKI deaths are raised. Are there actually fewer corona deaths - or even more?
Coronavirus in Turkey: New curfew for young people - the number of victims is increasing enormously
Update April 3, 9:45 pm: Turkey imposes a further measure against the spread of the coronavirus *. Now curfews focus on young people. From midnight, all under 20s are not allowed to leave their homes. This was announced on Friday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on TV. A curfew for people over 65 and for the chronically ill has already entered into force.
In addition, 31 cities , including Ankara and Istanbul, were banned from driving in and out of vehicles for two weeks. However, exceptions are possible in urgent cases. Wearing a face mask is also mandatory in all shops and markets from Saturday. So far, it has been proven that 20,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus * in Turkey, and a total of 425 have died as a result of the virus.
Breaking News - Turkey imposes an exit restriction on under-20s. pic.twitter.com/QDxgMBtDri
- TRT German (@TRT German) April 3, 2020Corona in Turkey: Turkish Airlines extends flight stop
Update April 3, 12:00 noon: Due to the coronavirus crisis, the semi-governmental Turkish Airlines has extended its extensive flight hold until May . Apart from a few domestic flights, air traffic will rest until May 1, the Turkish airline said. The measure previously applied until April 17. Turkey discontinued air traffic to Germany on March 21.
Update April 2, 7:24 pm: The death toll from lung disease Covid-19 in Turkey has risen to 356 , according to official figures . Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday that 79 patients had died within 24 hours. In addition, 2456 other people were infected with the coronavirus - the number of cases officially reported in Turkey increases to 18 135.
According to official information, most of the infected were reported in the metropolis of Istanbul . The mayor of the city, opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu, had repeated on Wednesday evening his call for stricter exit restrictions for the city. So far, the Turkish government has only imposed a full curfew on people aged 65 and over and chronically ill people. The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) repeatedly criticizes that there is too little protective equipment available for health workers . The previous day, the TTB had declared that the first doctor in Turkey had died of Covid-19.
So far, around 125,000 tests have been carried out in Turkey with its approximately 83 million inhabitants. Turkey reported its first coronavirus case on March 11.
Turks ignore coronavirus - Erdogan appeals in vain
First report from April 2:
Istanbul - Schools have been closed in Turkey , major events have been canceled and a curfew has been imposed on seniors over 65. The border to the risk area Iran is tight. Turkey discontinued air traffic to Germany on March 21. The government appears to have control over the spread of the corona virus. But in hardly any other country does Sars-CoV-2 spread as rapidly as in Turkey. “A catastrophe with an announcement” is the title of Deutsche Welle (dw.com) an article about the corona pandemic in Turkey. According to this, doctors expect Corona patients to rush to the hospitals. The Turks would not take the novel corona virus seriously.
Corona virus in Turkey: numbers explode
Welt.de (behind payment barrier) also reports of exploding numbers. Mass graves were already being excavated to prepare for corona deaths. The government denies. As a precaution, the graves would be dug for poor people who could not afford a family funeral in the province. Videos showing these mass graves have been circulating on the Internet for years.
Turkey spared from corona pandemic for a long time
Turkey officially reported its first Covid-19 case on March 11. Since then, the Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca has informed the population about the current status of the situation via Twitter. The number of infected and dead rises. According to the Johns Hopkins University , 15,679 corona cases have been registered so far, 277 people have died as a result of a coronavirus infection (as of April 2, 5:38 pm). The figures correspond exactly with the official information from the government on the previous day (April 1).
The deaths in Turkey have risen to 356, Koca tweeted on Thursday evening (as of April 2, 6:49 pm). The number of corona infected is therefore 18,757.
Test sayımız dune brat 4.000'in the hour artış gösterdi. Test sayısına oranla pozitif vaka sayımız ise azaldı. İyileşen 82 yeni hastamız var. Son 24 saat içinde kaybettiğimiz hastaların% 82'sinin 60 yaşını aşmış kişiler olması yine dikkat çekici.
https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/hQ1wSitTIQ
Corona crisis in Turkey: Istanbul Corona epicenter
The metropolis of Istanbul is particularly affected. The mayor of Istanbul, opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu, called for stricter exit restrictions for the city via Twitter on Wednesday. There, more than 8,800 people have already been infected with the corona virus and 117 people have died of Covid-19, reports the dpa news agency.
So far, around 106,799 tests have been carried out in the country with its approximately 83 million inhabitants. However, doctors test too little, reports dw.com . Only one or two tests are allowed among 100 people, a doctor told the transmitter.
Corona virus in Turkey - underestimated danger
Erdogan's appeals to stay at home fizzled out. However, the Turks would hardly stick to it, you can read on dw.com. Pensioners would leave their homes and there would even be videos of wedding celebrations online.
Many people would not take the virus seriously, since other types of viruses often had the same high death rate, a doctor told dw.com . So far, no one has taken the risk of the new corona virus seriously.
Despite vigorous appeals from the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the population to stay at home, many do not seem to follow. It is reported that seniors left the house despite curfew. Videos of large groups celebrating weddings are circulating on social media.
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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Rubric list picture: © AFP / ADEM ALTAN
