Expert in Turkiye warns of rise in omicron cases

ANKARA

Cases of the omicron coronavirus variant could rise if people do not follow measures such as wearing masks, keeping social distance, and paying attention to hygiene, a Turkish health official warned on Friday.

Member of Turkiye's Social Sciences Board of the Health Ministry Mustafa Necmi Ilhan underlined that the daily COVID-19 cases in Turkiye had gone up significantly in the past three days due to the new strain of the virus.

The daily count reached nearly 69,000 as of Saturday, he said, adding that the rise in cases was partly due to the New Year celebrations.

“It is true that the omicron variant is highly infectious, however, the transmission remains the same,” he said. “This is a respiratory-born virus.”

He stressed that people should wear masks and keep social distance, and get their vaccine shots as soon as possible.

According to Ilhan, the scientific community thinks that the omicron variant does not cause severe sickness and often triggers mild symptoms, while it was too early to come to a conclusion about the new variant.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas