A Turkish TV presenter only received his coronavirus after taking to social media to complain that he had been quarantined for 96 hours without being told whether he had contracted the virus.
Burak Akkul announced late on Monday that he tested positive for the coronavirus after his earlier Twitter message in the day in which he complained.
Akkul, the presenter of a travel program at Teve2 channel, tweeted that the test result had eventually revealed by the health authorities as a result of his previous call on social media and with the help of his followers on Twitter.
Tekrar merhaba. Ve çok teşekkür ederim. pic.twitter.com/0jfs3i2mof
— Burak Akkul (@burakakkul) March 16, 2020
“The purpose of today’s [previous Twitter] message was not aiming at criticizing or saddening anybody. We [just] wanted to learn the result [of the test]. With your help and [social media] messages, the issue [our demand] has struck a note and the result has been revealed [at the end],” Akkul said in video footage on his Twitter account.
The TV presenter also said he was receiving treatment for the novel coronavirus and would be informing the public about his situation accordingly.
In his previous Tweet earlier on Monday, Akkul had complained that he and his wife were not informed about their test results even if he had been taken into quarantine five days ago at Istanbul’s Kartal Training and Research Hospital.
He called on his Twitter followers to spread his message on social media in an attempt to urge the health officials to take a step in that regard.
Akkul’s wife, Seda, also tweeted later that she was not at the hospital but was quarantining herself at home, still waiting for her test result.
She added that they had visited the United Kingdom (UK) where the government came under public criticism for not taking the epidemic seriously enough.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused of playing roulette with the nation’s health as he said last week that he would not be shutting schools or banning mass gatherings. People displaying symptoms in the UK were just asked to self-isolate for a week.
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is also at the center of criticism regarding its approach to official confirmation of the virus and testing.
Prof Pinar Saip, the head of the Istanbul Medical Chamber (ITO), told Voice of America (VOA) Turkish last week that the confirmation of coronavirus within the country is suspicious because testing had not been widely carried out by the medical authorities.
On Monday, Sinan Adiyaman, the head of the Turkish Medical Association (TBB), reiterated that the 7,000 tests the country has so far conducted are far too low at this stage.
According to the TBB chair, the AKP government should decentralize the testing for the virus to catch more cases. He claimed at a live press conference that the TBB was receiving reports on the number of coronavirus-infected patients, adding that the number may be “far higher” than the officially revealed figure.
On Monday, Turkey has announced additional flight bans on six countries, including the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland, in an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said late on Monday that the latest figure for infected people in the country had reached 47, with 29 newly-diagnosed cases.
Bugün 29 yeni tanı kondu. Yeni tanı konanlarla birlikte toplam hasta sayımız 47 oldu. Son 29 vakanın tamamı doğrudan veya dolaylı olarak ABD, Ortadoğu ve Avrupa temaslıdır, 3’ü Umreden döndü. Yurt dışı teması risk olmaya devam edecek. Tedbirleri sıkı uygulayalım.
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) March 16, 2020
The minister tweeted that all 29 had direct or indirect previous contacts with the United States, the Middle East, and Europe. Among them, three positive-tested people had returned to the country from pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, thousands of Muslims returning from a pilgrimage had been taken into quarantine as part of a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.
On Monday, the Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey canceled all congregational or collective worship, including Friday prayers, until the threat from the disease passes, with the mosques still being open to worshippers for individual prayer.
The Turkish government has started taking stricter measures against the outbreak, including suspension of education at schools and universities, following the announcement of the country’s first coronavirus case on Wednesday last week.
Turkey quarantines thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia
The post Authorities reveal Turkish TV presenter’s coronavirus status after he complains appeared first on IPA NEWS.
from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2020/03/17/authorities-reveal-turkish-tv-presenters-coronavirus-status-after-he-complains/
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