Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the concept of social distancing has gained popularity, bringing with it two important questions: Do countries have sufficient technological infrastructure to implement the concept? And how many people can access that technology? Turkey, for its part, has the technological infrastructure to enforce social distancing, but the public needs to be educated on how to effectively use the internet and online services.

The number of coronavirus cases in Turkey will soon be in the thousands, even as the government released figures slowly and in a controlled manner in a bid to acclimatize the public mood. The death toll from COVID-19 is at three, and the total confirmed cases is at 191 as of March 19.

Authorities worldwide are urging people to practice social distancing to contain the pandemic. The strategy dictates two priorities: First, tools of mass communication and technological infrastructure must be used to convince people to stay home. People should be encouraged to and educated on how to meet their needs via internet. Second, everyone’s access to such technologies must be ensured without additional personal costs.

COVID-19 has spread to 162 countries, killing more than 7,000 as of mid-March, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Reported cases are inspected to increase, as the severity of the crisis forces governments to be more transparent on how they address the outbreak. Casualties aside, financial losses are another top agenda item of the international community. The United Nations has listed three variables that will shape the depth of the global financial crisis: the speed and magnitude of the outbreak; the time needed to develop a vaccine; and policymakers’ swift responses to unfolding developments. Unfortunately, aside from a drop in the number of new infections in China, none of these fronts seem promising.