Turkish Medical Association expects coronavirus pandemic to last for a total of 11 weeks from onset

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Turkish Medical Association expects pandemic to recur in September

Turkish Medical Association head Prof. Sinan Adıyaman has said that they expect the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to last for a total of 11 weeks from its beginning until it wanes.

"Our teams are saying that nine weeks is needed for the virus to form a plateau. However, this is the first time humanity encounters a coronavirus pandemic, so they can't exactly predict how the process will go," Adıyaman told Tarafsız News Agency on April 7.

"There is a lack of information here. That's why it can be different. Under normal circumstances, it would wane towards summer and only a number of cases would be left, but it's unknown. Hence, our teams are saying that it can be prolonged to 11 weeks. Time will tell," he added.

Turkey reported its first coronavirus case on March 11 and the death toll exceeded 600 as of April 6.

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Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on April 6 that 21,400 tests for the COVID-19 disease had been performed in Turkey in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number to 181,445, while the total number of cases is 27,069.

Adıyaman said that the number of cases announced by the minister depend on coronavirus tests, but doesn't include patients diagnosed via tomography.

When asked about the number of healthcare professionals diagnosed, Adıyaman said, "It's over 1,000 in Istanbul."

"We have received information that it's 11 in [the western province of] İzmir and between 100 and 150 in [the capital] Ankara," he also said.