93 percent of coronavirus deaths older than 65 in Turkey, says health minister

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on June 5 that some 93 percent of patients who died of the novel coronavirus in Turkey were over 65 years old, as the country's total death toll from the virus hit 4,648.

Duvar English

Some 93 percent of patients who died of the novel coronavirus in Turkey were over 65 years old, the country's health minister said on June 5.

Erdoğan lifts weekend curfew after public criticism amid increasing number of coronavirus casesErdoğan lifts weekend curfew after public criticism amid increasing number of coronavirus cases

"Theavarage age of people who died over the past month is 74.6,"Fahrettin Koca told a videoconference with the ambassadors of 26 EUcountries to give them information on Turkey's fight against thepandemic.

AsTurkey eased Covid-19 restrictions, over 1,000 foreign patientsvisited country in 10 days, he also said.

Meanwhile, Turkey on June 5 reported the lowest daily coroanvirus death toll since late March. The Health Ministry added 18 fatalities to the death toll, with 4,648 fatalities in total since the outbreak began in March.

The country also recorded 930 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 168,340.

Healthcare professionals ran 57,829 tests for the virus in the past 24 hours, raising the total number to more than 2.26 million.

Currently, some 592 patients are being treated in intensive care, the ministry data showed.

Koca wrote on Twitter that an important part of the patient cases are those who did not a symptom but whose states of health are monitored.

In his message, the minister once again urged citizens to pay attention to their hand hygiene, wear facial masks and abide by the social distancing regulations.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 5 decided to cancel a weekend lockdown announced late on June 4 after public backlash, but he warned of a rise in the number of daily coronavirus cases.

Cafe uses mannequins to enforce social distancing measures in Turkey's northeastCafe uses mannequins to enforce social distancing measures in Turkey's northeast

In a surprise announcement on June 4, the Interior Ministry said that a stay-at-home order would be in place in 15 cities to prevent the spread of the virus, continuing the country’s policy of weekend lockdowns.

A day earlier, however, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca ruled out further weekend lockdowns as the country began returning to “normal life” on June 1.

In a series of tweets, Erdoğan said on June 5 the government had to impose the weekend lockdown after daily new COVID-19 cases rose from around 700 to nearly 1,000.

“However, the reactions we received from our people pushed us to re-evaluate the decision” and the lockdown is now revoked, he said, urging people to follow social distancing and hygiene measures.

While the motive behind refuting, imposing and lifting bans remains unknown, this is not the first time that a discrepancy took place on the issue.

Topics Coronavirus Turkey Turkey coronavirus death toll