Communist healthcare workers accuse health ministry of failing to protect health personnel

Healthcare workers from the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) released a statement on September 3, criticizing the Health Minister Fahrettin Koca for his ministry’s policies amid the increasing numbers of COVID-19 in the country.
Friday, 04 September 2020 12:15

The health minister made a statement on Wednesday following the weekly meeting of his ministry’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board in Ankara. Koca claimed that “the outbreak is under control”.

As Koca blamed the people for the increasing trend of the COVID-19 cases around Turkey, the communist healthcare workers responded to the health minister. 

“The health policies of AKP failed,” the healthcare workers from TKP said, adding that Koca is mocking the healthcare workers with his statement on the reopening of some public hospitals following the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Ankara. 

Despite the objections of healthcare workers, some public hospitals had been shut down in the city in order to pave the way for “city hospitals” known for big tenders in favour of the pro-government companies. 

Health Minister Koca is also owner of a private healthcare company, Medipolitan Health and Education Services, which has increased its capital to 100 million Turkish Liras (~$13.6 million) during the process of COVID-19 pandemic, which was about 30 million Turkish Liras (~$4 million) before the outbreak.

The Communist healthcare workers criticized the health ministry for its policies that have failed to protect the healthcare workers since the beginning of the outbreak in Turkey. 

HEALTH MINISTRY DOES NOT PROTECT HEALTHCARE WORKERS 

Koca announced that out of 29,865 healthcare workers who were infected so far, 52 lost their lives. Talking to soL news, however, the head of the Turkish Medical Association, said that the number of the healthcare workers who lost their lives due to COVID-19 were over 70 so far, adding that the precise number was unknown since the ministry did not share transparent information regarding the medical conditions of healthcare personnel. 

The communist healthcare workers accused Koca of unnecessarily occupying the post of health ministry because the ministerial policies have failed to protect the people and the healthcare personnel from the very beginning.

Turkey witnessed the first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 11, 2020. Despite some lockdown implementations, yet controversial, most of the workers had to continue to work amid the pandemic while many of them lost their jobs. 

The Turkish government imposed a “normalization process” as of June 1 when domestic flights were resumed and most public spaces were opened, including restaurants, swimming pools, beaches, parks, libraries and museums.

According to health ministry’s figures, as of September 3, 274,943 people have been infected so far in Turkey while the death toll is 6,511. Only on Thursday, 49 people lost their lives as 1,642 got infected in total. The COVID-19 trend started to increase in August.