A year has passed since the first COVID-19 case was reported in Turkey and since then the pandemic radically changed the lives of more than 83 million people. At times, the country seesawed between waves of new infections and times when the new cases hit new lows. Overall, Turkey largely succeeded to stave off larger waves but at the cost of stifling the population with tight restrictions. Nowadays, it aims for a gradual return to the pre-pandemic era, except ubiquitous masks, social distancing and hygiene rules. This new, challenging process, however, is occasionally shaken by news of rises in daily cases, which might necessitate introducing new restrictions, or rather, bring back the old ones, like partial lockdowns.
So far, Turkey recorded more than 2.8 million cases, and 29,160 people lost their lives. Recoveries since March 2020 exceeded 2.6 million. Health care workers conducted 34.4 million tests to find positive patients. As of Wednesday, it delivered more than 10.3 million jabs of CoronaVac, the only available vaccine against coronavirus in the country, about two months after a nationwide inoculation drive began.
As countries were trying to weigh the scale of the impact of the virus first reported in China, Turkey was quick to draw guidelines on fighting a possible outbreak. On Jan. 10, the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, composed of prominent medical professionals specialized in infectious diseases, was formed. The board, which has shaped the daily lives of millions since its inception, was behind decisions to impose a set of measures, including setting up thermal screening at airports and medical checks for passengers arriving from countries with reported cases. It also planned the evacuation of Turkish citizens from virus-hit countries. On Feb. 5, 2020, flights from China were suspended.
