Individuals who have been in contact with persons who tested positive for the coronavirus will be denied testing if they are exhibiting no symptoms of COVID-19, according to a new regulation from the Turkish Health Ministry.
According to the regulation, which has been distributed to provincial healthcare directorates across the country, a person identified as a contact will only be tested for the coronavirus when they develop symptoms.
Experts fear the ministry’s decision will contribute to the surging number of coronavirus infections in the country since some people who have contracted COVID-19 show no symptoms.
Contrary to the practice in Turkey, which has been widely criticized for failing to take effective preventative measures to contain the pandemic, some countries are expanding coronavirus testing to include individuals who show no symptoms of COVID-19 in order to quickly spot infected people and isolate them.
Turkey identified 2,841 coronavirus patients on Thursday. The daily number of coronavirus infections in the country is not known as the Health Ministry announces only the number of the “patients,” meaning that only the people who have been hospitalized for coronavirus treatment are included.