Türkİye, Health, Latest on coronavirus outbreak

Turkey denies claims of inaccurate COVID-19 data

Allegations on social media about coronavirus data ‘completely unfounded’ says Fahrettin Koca

Hamdi Celikbas  | 30.03.2020 - Update : 30.03.2020
Turkey denies claims of inaccurate COVID-19 data

ANKARA  

Turkey’s health minister criticized social media early Monday over allegations that official data on the novel coronavirus is inaccurate.

“Claims on social media that there is an incoherency in the data we announced are completely unfounded,” Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

“The numerical data announced is based directly on COVID-19 diagnosis data. It is instant and real-time data,” Koca said, referring to the official name of the novel coronavirus.

“It is useless to distort the facts,” he added.

As of Sunday, Turkey had 9,217 confirmed cases and the death toll stands at 131.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China in December. There are currently more than 720,000 cases worldwide and over 33,800 reported deaths with over 149,000 recoveries, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover.

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