Turkish health officials watch for COVID-19 cases to rise after holiday
Turkish health officials are calling for increased precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 as citizens conclude festivities for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
ISTANBUL — Over the weekend, many Turkish citizens visited family members and popular tourism destinations amid festivities for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Kurban Bayrami. Health officials are now closely monitoring COVID-19 cases, which they expect to rise after the nationwide holiday travel and are calling for the enforcement of new precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“You don’t need to be an oracle to know this,” Dr. Sinan Adiyaman, president of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), told Al-Monitor.
Adiyaman said social distancing measures and weekend curfews were “lifted hastily” in June, and new daily recorded cases are floating near 1,000 after falling below 800 on June 2. He credits the rise to the reopening of restaurants and cafes along with increased international and domestic travel, as well as mass prayers marking the conversion of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia to a mosque on July 24.
To date, Turkey’s Health Ministry has reported about 233,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 5,750 virus-linked deaths. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Turkey ranks 17th in recorded cases worldwide and has the 22nd highest death rate.
