Desperate doctors call for lockdown in Istanbul
Turkish medical associations as well as the mayor are appealing to the Turkish government to close down Istanbul as daily deaths reach April levels.
Turkey’s overloaded medical sector appealed to the government for a total lockdown of the country for a minimum of two weeks up to a month to control the spike in COVID-19 cases all across the country, particularly in its biggest and most affected city.
Meanwhile, Istanbul's hospitals have crumbled under mounting cases and demands for tests, with long queues and angry patients, as the number of deaths reached levels last seen in April, the height of the pandemic.
On Nov. 14, the Ministry of Health reported 3,119 new confirmed cases, but that figure includes only symptomatic patients. Medical associations say that the government's lack of transparency not only puts health professionals at risk but stops Turks from being sufficiently vigilant on social distancing and hygiene.
The figures from the ministry show a rise in the number of critically ill patients. The number of deaths in the last 24 hours was given as 94, and the total death toll has exceeded 11,600.
