The Ministry of Health in Turkey has announced new algorithms regarding the surveillance and treatment of patients and people in contact with COVID-19 patients.
One of the new algorithms issued by the Ministry is about the isolation process tracking of primary care physicians. Accordingly, primary care physicians will track positive COVID-19 cases with phone calls during their isolation periods for 14 days.
Also, they will give medical reports to people in contact with COVID-19 patients for this 14-day isolation period.
However, if the person in contact with COVID-19 patients is a healthcare professional, s/he will continue to work by wearing masks, the new treatment procedures issued by the Turkish Ministry of Health say.
Turkish government’s new algorithms about tracking and treatment procedures clearly seem that the Ministry forces the healthcare professionals in contact with the COVID-19 patients to continue working in any condition despite the high risks of getting the disease or infecting other people due to the concerns about a rise in the number of possible cases.
As the Ministry of Health in Turkey has no regular approach to testing and screening for healthcare professionals, experts warn that this policy of the government will cause the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic through health institutions.
On August 10, the Ministry of Health introduced a new treatment procedure regarding the hospitalization of COVID-19 patients, changing the algorithm of home attendant care and in-patient treatment for coronavirus patients.
A COVID-19 patient has to suffer from respiratory distress, shortness of breath, difficulty in oral intake, and feeding in order for in-patient treatment, according to the new treatment procedures of the Ministry.
There has been a dramatic increase in the number of patients in intensive care and intubated patients since June 15 in the country following the Turkish government’s ‘‘normalization’’ policy introduced last month.
Public health expert and soL news columnist İlker Belek had underlined that the reason why the Ministry has changed the treatment procedures and started home treatment is a dramatic increase in the number of patients in intensive care units and intubated patients.
