Turkey’s 8,000 coronavirus tests not enough – medical association

The number of coronavirus tests carried out in Turkey is too low compared to the number of suspected cases, the Cumhuriyet newspaper on Thursday quoted the chairman of the medical association as saying.

The expected return of some 21,000 Turkish nationals from pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia within a few weeks has sparked fears that the virus will spread further throughout the country.

The Health Ministry said some 8,000 people had undergone tests since the first COVID-19 diagnosis. But the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has criticised the government for what it said were inadequate measures to stem the spread of the virus, and said the Health Ministry’s approach lacked transparency.

"For example, 20,000 tests were carried out daily in South Korea. Eight thousand is very low. We repeat, the number of tests, the centres where they are conducted should be increased and be free," Cumhuriyet quoted TTB Chairman Sinan Adıyaman as saying.

Turkey currently has five centres to handle all testing for the COVID-19 coronavirus, despite the Health Ministry saying it had 25 such laboratories, according to clinical microbiologist and infectious disease expert Gaye Usluer from Eskişehir Osmangazi University.