Turkish health minister briefs WHO on virus measures

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's health minister on Wednesday briefed a World Health Organization (WHO) director about the measures adopted nationwide to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Data was also shared at the online meeting between Fahrettin Koca and WHO's Europe head Hans Kluge, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Congratulating Turkey on the success it has made in curbing the virus, Kluge said he will visit Turkey once international travel restrictions are lifted.

Sharing the latest figures, Koca compared the case-count during the lockdown period and after it was lifted.

"While the number of patients in intensive care unit was around 200 in April, today it is around 50," Koca said, stressing the country used digitalization in health to its advantage.

Kluge said they were closely following Turkey's experience regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that is believed to treat COVID-19 by some practitioners.

However, he said, they are also looking forward to seeing scientific studies on it.

"I want to thank Turkey once again for universal health coverage provided to the refugees," Kluge added.

On Wednesday, Turkey confirmed 173,036 cases, while recoveries neared 146,839. The virus has killed 4,746 people so far, according to Health Ministry data.

The pandemic has killed more than 413,000 people worldwide, with over 7.29 million confirmed cases and more than 3.4 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.