Turkish medics accuse govt of hiding Covid data

Ankara, Aug 2 (efe-epa).- The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) on Sunday accused the country’s health ministry of hiding Covid-19 data from the public and the world.

Yilmaz Kurt, a doctor in an emergency unit at a private hospital in Ankara, told Efe that they have seen an increase in the number of Covid cases and have heard from colleagues that several hospitals are already full.

He warned that there is likely to be a surge in infections after the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha, which began on Thursday and will end on Monday.

“A new wave should be expected after the Sacrifice Holiday since hundreds of thousands of people traveled around the country and visited their elderly family members,” he added.

“Maybe we are now seeing an increase linked to the opening ceremony of Hagia Sophia during which 350 thousand people were reported to pray together and social distance was not very much cared for.”

The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul reopened as a place of worship on 24 July.

Sinan Adiyaman, chairman of the TTB, told Turkish newspaper Sozcu: “Health ministry restricted the tests for those who contacted the infected patients.

“When the number of tests decreases the number of new patients also decreases.

“With zero tests you will have zero patients.”

Adiyaman added that the number of new cases reported by the ministry has been below 1,000 for days.