Turkey started announcing the average weekly number of coronavirus cases starting Monday in a bid to shape local policies to slow the outbreak. Figures show Trabzon, a major city in the northern Black Sea region, dominated last week in the number of cases and it was followed by other provinces in the region.
A map published on the Health Ministry’s website shows the average number of cases per 100,000 people, between Feb. 8-14. The number of cases per 100,000 people is 60.19 in Istanbul, 35.49 in the capital Ankara and 44.39 in the western Izmir province.
In Trabzon, the number of cases was 228.02 per 100,000 people, the highest in the country of more than 83 million people. Its eastern neighbor Rize followed with 202.44 people. Ordu, another Black Sea province, ranked third. The lowest average number of weekly cases was in the southeastern provinces of Şırnak and Hakkari, at 7.82 and 9.55 per 100,000 people, respectively.
The high number is attributed to social mobility in the region. Though its rural areas are sparsely populated due to mountainous geography, which provides a “natural” social distancing, the provinces are still hot spots for the outbreak. Authorities and experts associate it with crowded events, like funerals, mass visits for condolences and household visits, despite pleas to avoid them.
Trabzon, Rize and Ordu are already on alert as risk maps provided by the Health Ministry show locations of COVID-19 cases that recently turned red.
