Coronavirus starts to hit nursing homes in Turkey

Aynur Tekin / DUVAR

According to a lengthy text that has been shared on social media last week, 37 patients at a nursing home in Istanbul have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

“Since there have been restrictions applied against the elderly, what sort of recklessness allowed this to happen? Were the personnel coming from outside not sufficiently examined? This needs to be researched. The place to which we entrusted our elderly relatives called them on their phones in their rooms on April 12 and said 'we are sorry to say that you are positive.' Can you imagine the shock of our elderly relatives when they learned that they were sick on the phone? The nursing home informing our 60-and-older relatives in this manner is a separate instance of insensitivity, indifference and cruelty,” said the text. 

It alleged that the elderly people who tested positive for coronavirus were brought to the hospital in ambulances one by one in an unplanned manner that lasted until 1:30 in the morning.

Turkey restrains citizens older than 65-year-old from leaving homes

The text added that one 68-year-old was quite healthy prior to being transported to the hospital, not showing any symptoms such as coughing, a high fever, or breathing problems, and the author was concerned that this person may not actually have the virus as false positive test results are common and was worried about their relative being in a hospital environment. 

Duvar English contacted the nursing home, which denied the claims. However, we reached the relative of a patient staying at the nursing home, who said their mother was diagnosed with COVID-19, and that nearly 40 people in the facility had also tested positive. 

“They are not letting anyone who tests positive stay at the nursing home, they are sending them to the hospital for treatment. In 14 days, my mother will be tested again and if the results are negative she will return to the nursing home,” said the relative. 

As the nursing home banned visitation after the first cases of the virus in Turkey were announced, it is believed that personnel coming from outside may have transmitted it to the nursing home's residents. There are upwards of 400 residents at the nursing home, which employs one doctor and nine nurses. 

According to Erdal Güzel, a co-chair of an Istanbul branch of the Health and Social Services Workers' Union (SES), said that similar situations have arisen at a number of nursing homes in Istanbul, but the news is not being shared with the public due to the instructions of the Ministry of Health. 

Turkey’s elderly population increases by 20 pct since 2014