The son of a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy is allegedly soliciting advance orders for COVID-19 tests, which should normally only be handled by Turkey’s Health Ministry, according to Kemal Özkiraz, head of the Eurasia Public Research Center (AKAM).
Özkiraz tweeted on Saturday that AKP Kayseri deputy İsmail Tamer’s son Namık has been collecting advance orders for COVID-19 tests. He also shared a screenshot of Namık’s WhatsApp status, which says, “Collecting advance orders for COVID-19 Rapid Test. Please get in touch.”
Özkiraz said the local media outlets in Kayseri have also confirmed his allegation and called on İsmail Tamer to resign in the wake of the scandal.
The first case of coronavirus in Turkey was confirmed by the Turkish health minister on March 11. As of March 28, there are a total of 7,402 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey, while the number of deaths caused by the new coronavirus is 108.
In the meantime, İsmail Tamer later on Saturday denied the reports about his son’s collecting pre-orders for COVID-19 tests. From his Twitter account, he said the claims were baseless and that the use of the tests kits is under the control of the Health Ministry.