Fahrettin Koca

Turkey will lift the indoor face mask mandate fully within 10 days, an expert from the Health Ministry's Science Board has said.

"Daily infections decrease day by day, and this is a great achievement [against the coronavirus]," Nurettin Yiyit told İhlas News Agency.

Mandatory use of protective face masks is no longer required for millions of students and teachers in Turkey, as the government eased measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in a historic move on April 26.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has shown hints that the end of the coronavirus pandemic is nearing while visiting tradesmen in the southeastern province of Adıyaman unmasked and shaking hands with them.

"We are going back to our old days when measures or curbs did not exist," Koca said on April 25.

Caseloads of hospitals across the country are declining as the COVID-19 pandemic is weakening by the day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said, warning that people, especially the elderly, still need to get their booster shots against the virus.

The Health Ministry's Science Board will discuss the latest situation in the COVID-19 pandemic and the virus-related measures, the country's top health official has said.

Speaking at the northwestern province of Bursa, Fahrettin Koca noted that the number of daily infections has declined to 3,200 as of April 17, which marked the lowest level in the past one and a half years.

Deaths from the coronavirus continue to decline, while the number of COVID-19 cases shows a downward trend in Turkey, according to the data from the Health Ministry.

The ministry reported less than 20 deaths on April 18 and 19, the lowest fatalities recorded in months.

The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over for Turkey, and people should not worry anymore, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said.

The Health Ministry's Science Board, which advises the government on the pandemic, will have an important meeting next week in which members will discuss the use of face masks in schools, Koca told reporters on April 14.

The coronavirus pandemic is not totally over, but risks of infections and deaths have reduced, a prominent Turkish physician said on April 12.

"The pandemic is not over yet. But we are at the end of the tunnel," said Tevfik Özlü, a professor from the Health Ministry's Coronavirus Science Board.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals' intensive care units (ICU) has been declining in Turkey, an expert has said, citing the vaccinations as the main reason for the improvement in the situation.

In line with fewer patients, intensive care occupancy in hospitals has dropped to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic.

Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca expects a further decline in COVID-19 cases in the coming days, noting that Turkovac, the country's locally-produced COVID-19 vaccine, has proved to be very effective.