Turkey is going through a heightened COVID-19 pandemic with the number of daily cases breaking new records due to the fast-spreading omicron variant. However, there are silver linings on the horizon for the country as well. For one, Istanbul, the country’s most crowded city, is experiencing a relative drop in the number of hospitalizations from coronavirus, a relief for the health care system. Secondly, adverse weather characterized by heavy snowfall has curbed socialization, something attributed to the rising number of cases, especially in Anatolia.
Istanbul held records in the number of daily cases in recent weeks, straining the health care system in the city of more than 15 million people. Yet, cases appear to have peaked and now a decline may follow.
Experts were also worried about a rise in the number of cases in Anatolian cities where a large number of people traveled to and from during the midterm school holiday which began last month and will end next week. Still, authorities believe that the pandemic in those cities is “manageable” as it does not pose a risk of putting pressure on the health care system.
Heavy snowfall which continued for days and freezing temperatures prevalent across most cities, especially in eastern and northern provinces, also contributed to a decline in the number of cases. Transportation shutdowns due to the bad weather forced people to stay at home, just like in the first two years of the pandemic where curfews were frequent and gatherings at homes and crowded places were limited. It effectively put breaks on the speed of infections and authorities expect the situation to linger as winter conditions are anticipated to remain in force throughout this month as well.
Although the number of daily cases is exceptionally high, omicron’s comparative mildness and mass vaccination have helped in reducing the severity of cases. Experts say current daily numbers are not as devastating as they were in the spring of 2021, when the cases reached around 60,000 and were more severe in nature, forcing the government to impose lockdowns. Yet, they are worried about the high number of people lacking booster shots, required for full protection against omicron. So far, about 24 million people still do not have booster shots.
Since the vaccination program was launched in January 2021, more than 141 million doses have been administered. The number of people with two doses of vaccine exceeded 52 million.
