Turkish Health Minister confirmed yesterday the first 6 infections by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, detected in Istanbul and İzmir.
Turkey confirmed late yesterday the first cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, as announced in an appearance by the Turkish Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, who indicated that a positive case had been detected in Istanbul – the country’s largest city- and another five infections from the new strain in İzmir, Turkey’s third most populous province.
As explained by the minister, the 6 cases of Omicron detected on Saturday are isolated and not serious, since none of the infected people has needed hospitalisation; in this regard, Koca stressed that the new variant has a much faster rate of spread, but apparently it shows mild symptoms in patients.
“What needs to be done (to deal with this new strain) is for our citizens to continue with (hygiene) measures as has been done so far,” said the minister, insisting on the importance of the vaccine for citizens who continue to refuse vaccination, or that have only received the first dose.
The Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa in November, and sparked great concern over the unusual number of mutations it presents, making it much more contagious than the hitherto dominant Delta variant, and raising questions for experts about its possible resistance to vaccines.
The confirmation of the first cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Turkey, comes after just a few days ago Ankara banned travels with several countries in Africa in an attempt to prevent the arrival of the new strain to the country: a measure that has been also adopted by several European countries, which are considering once again the confinement of the population or even make vaccine mandatory for those who rejected it, given the worrying spike in infections.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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