Turkey registers highest number of daily COVID-19 cases in 1.5 months

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Turkish professor points to exhaustion among doctors, says resignations increasing amid COVID-19 pandemic

Turkey on Aug. 19 registered the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases in the last 1.5 months, as the intensive care bed occupancy rate in hospitals reached 64.8 percent, said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Ata news conference following a meeting of the Health Ministry'sCoronavirus Science Committee, Koca said 1,303 new cases confirmed inthe past day brought the tally to date to 253,108. The deathtoll reached 6,039 as 23 more people lost their lives, hesaid.

Ofthose infected, 7.4 percent are suffering from pneumonia and thenumber of patients in critical condition rose to 719, according tothe data provided by Koca.

"Including COVID-19 and all other diseases, the service bed occupancy rate is 51.3 percent, the intensive care bed occupancy rate is 64.8 percent, and the ventilator occupancy rate is 31.7 percent," he said.

Vaka sayımız, 1.300’ün üzerine çıktı. Düne kıyasla, pozitif tanı sayımız 40 fazla. Artışın kontrol altına alınması, hep birlikte bize bağlı. Maske, mesafe ve temizlik konusunda ödünsüz olun. Bu tabloyu, ihmallerin ve tedbirlerin belirlediğini unutmayın. https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/kGeQRyem79

— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) August 19, 2020

Koca also said the Health Ministry is about to launch a new system called “telemedicine” that will connect doctors with COVID-19 patients getting treatment at home.

Turkish schools to begin reopening on Sept 21

“Those patients who are young or presenting mild symptoms are taking a rest at home, in isolation. We will in the upcoming days launch a new system for our patients who are getting treatment at home. Through a system called 'telemedicine,' our doctors will directly talk with their patients,” he said.

Kocawas also asked about the government's plan to reopen schools on Sept.21. The minister said that the Coronavirus Science Committee is ofthe opinion that schools should be reopened on this date, adding thatdistance and hybrid learning systems might also be implementeddepending on the course of the pandemic.

“We know that some of the grades need to start the education in some way. Therefore the basic approach is that education kicks off on Sept. 21 in general sense,” Koca said, however adding that if the pandemic takes a different course, different methods other than face-to-face classes might be considered.