COVID-19 cases on rapid rise across Turkey amid normalization efforts

Duvar English - The number of COVID-19 cases has been rapidly increasing across Turkey, as experts continue to raise alarm over the course of the pandemic. Millions of people poured to the streets in Istanbul, İzmir and Ankara on March 6, which was the first Saturday without a curfew since November.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 1 lifted weekend lockdowns in low- and medium-risk cities and limited lockdowns to Sundays in those deemed higher risk under what he called a "controlled normalization." 

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) said that the number of cases increased by 100 percent in nearly all provinces, adding that the number of very high-risk cities rose to 26 from 17. Istanbul, which was declared high-risk, has become very high-risk within a week. "The pandemic is not being managed and we're paying the price as the society," the TTB said on March 6.

While Prof. Sait Gönen said that the hospitalizations have increased and that a third wave may be on the horizon in April, Prof. Mehmet Ceyhan criticized the government for making it seem like the danger has passed.