In a public address on Monday night, the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stated,
“Turkey is a country where production must continue and the cogs must
keep turning under every circumstance and every condition.” Turkey,
where more than two hundred people have died from the new coronavirus,
has one of the world’s fastest-growing outbreaks, but Erdoğan has
resisted urgent action, calling only for a “voluntary quarantine” for
most of the country. Opposition politicians have called for harsher
measures against the coronavirus, including the types of lockdowns that
have gone into effect around the world, but they have been increasingly
besieged and marginalized in recent years, as Erdoğan has extended his
power and thrown his rivals in prison. Last week, Turkey arrested
hundreds of people for “provocative” posts about the outbreak on social
media. Medical professionals who have urged harsher measures have issued apologies after being arrested.
I recently spoke by phone with Emrah Altindis, a professor of biology at Boston College who has been studying the epidemic in Turkey, where he is from. He is also one of the editors of the book “Authoritarianism and Resistance in Turkey: Conversations on Democratic and Social Challenges.” During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed how Erdoğan’s privatization of the medical system affected coronavirus preparation, how the Syrian refugee crisis has changed Turkish society, and the dangers of an outbreak in Turkey’s prisons.
Let’s start with the numbers. The first case in Turkey was detected on March 11th. This was later than in most countries. And the first death happened on March 17th. And as of today, March 31st, we have lost two hundred and fourteen people. And the number of cases that are confirmed is 13,531. If you compare these numbers to other countries’ after they had a hundred cases detected, Turkey has the biggest rate of increase in the number of cases in the world right now. So it means that it is really very serious.
We have some hope with the mortality rate. As you know, it is very high in Spain and in Italy. But in Turkey, if these official numbers are true—and they are extremely questionable, because there is no transparency in Turkey—but, if these numbers are true, then the rate is less than in Italy or Spain.
Read more: The Coronavirus Meets Authoritarianism in Turkey | The New Yorker
I recently spoke by phone with Emrah Altindis, a professor of biology at Boston College who has been studying the epidemic in Turkey, where he is from. He is also one of the editors of the book “Authoritarianism and Resistance in Turkey: Conversations on Democratic and Social Challenges.” During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed how Erdoğan’s privatization of the medical system affected coronavirus preparation, how the Syrian refugee crisis has changed Turkish society, and the dangers of an outbreak in Turkey’s prisons.
Let’s start with the numbers. The first case in Turkey was detected on March 11th. This was later than in most countries. And the first death happened on March 17th. And as of today, March 31st, we have lost two hundred and fourteen people. And the number of cases that are confirmed is 13,531. If you compare these numbers to other countries’ after they had a hundred cases detected, Turkey has the biggest rate of increase in the number of cases in the world right now. So it means that it is really very serious.
We have some hope with the mortality rate. As you know, it is very high in Spain and in Italy. But in Turkey, if these official numbers are true—and they are extremely questionable, because there is no transparency in Turkey—but, if these numbers are true, then the rate is less than in Italy or Spain.
Read more: The Coronavirus Meets Authoritarianism in Turkey | The New Yorker
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