Turkish health minister briefs WHO over virus efforts

ANKARA

Turkey's health minister on Thursday attended the weekly teleconference meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) under the presidency of Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Fahrettin Koca briefed the participants about Turkish efforts to stem the spread of the virus and said Ankara maintained its collaboration with the international actors in a sense of solidarity against the virus.

"Solidarity is the most important weapon of ours against this unprecedented threat," Koca said, adding: "In this period, we should put aside differences and focus on the solution."

The treatment in Turkey bore fruit and mortality rate declined, and the pace of the confirmed cases started to slow down, he stressed.

The early treatment protocols helped reduce pneumonia ratio among patients, and the death rate of patients in intensive care units dropped to 10%, added the minister.

The developments in the country's health sector over the past decade enabled Turkey to quickly respond to the pandemic, adding health technology also played a major role, Koca noted.

The minister concluded that Turkey observed the peak point 30 days after confirming its first case, and the country would maintain measures for a while to ensure eradication of the virus.

Tedros, for his part, said countries around the world began to ease coronavirus measures, however, he added, they should still be cautious.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 230,600 worldwide, with more than 3.24 million infections, while recoveries have exceeded 1 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas