WHO official thanks Turkey for following virus advice

ANKARA

The World Health Organization's European region chief thanked Turkey as the country follows its coronavirus recommendations, an official statement said on Thursday.

“President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan's activities and leadership are appreciated by all countries. I would like to congratulate you on your strong data and information delivery system,” Hans Kluge told Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca in a video conference.

Kluge also congratulated Turkey as the country increased the scopes of vaccine studies, rapid COVID-19 diagnostic kits, and genome sequencing studies.

During the meeting, Kluge and Koca discussed rising COVID-19 cases in Europe, mutations, the current situation in Turkey and vaccine studies.

"We have entered a period in which the number of cases is increasing in Europe and decreasing gradually in our country,” Koca said, adding that his country does not compromise on rapid testing, isolation, and contact tracking.

Noting that Turkey proceeds well on developing a national vaccine, Koca said Turkey has carried out all necessary work to delay the entrance of new mutation to the country.

“We have implemented some travel measures regarding the countries where the mutation is seen and quarantine measures for those coming from these countries,” Koca said.

Kluge said there is no indication that the mutation increases mortality rates or aggravates the disease. Contagiousness has increased, he said, adding that public health measures should be increased all over the world.

Kluge also recommended vaccination studies to be accelerated worldwide.

As of Thursday, Turkey had registered a total of 22,264 deaths due to the coronavirus, while over 2.17 million people have recovered from the disease. There are currently more than 2.29 million confirmed cases in the country.

Since it originated in China in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.89 million lives in 191 countries and regions.

Over 87.65 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 48.94 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar