Koca

The phase two trials of the Turkish-made COVID-19 vaccine will begin on Dec. 25, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on late Dec. 12.

Turkey's health minister says his country has no plans to make vaccination against the new coronavirus mandatory but will work to convince the public about the safety of the vaccines.

Following anti-virus measures is not a personal choice, but a social necessity, Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said, as the surge in COVID-19 cases continues.

"Our health army is under a heavy burden," Koca said on Twitter on Nov. 28, citing the figures for severe cases.

"We are all responsible to adhere to the measures," he added.

People swarmed streets, parks, shopping centers and cafes to enjoy the first curfew-free weekend since being locked inside their houses mid-April after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 5 canceled an initially planned lockdown for 15 provinces, saying that it could have led "to social and economic consequences."

Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca resorted to an unusual way to warn the public about the ongoing risks from the coronavirus by posting photos with Chinese inscriptions along with his tweets.

The Turkish public largely followed preventive measures against the coronavirus, and a mobile application will be used to track inter-city travels, the country's health minister said on May 20. The app became ready for use on May 21.

The Turkish public largely followed preventive measures against coronavirus and a mobile application will be used to track inter-city travels, the country's health minister said on May 20. 

Any complacency in the fight against the coronavirus may have serious consequences for the entire country, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has warned, referring to the "butterfly effect."

"A small event may trigger a chain of events as the spread of the coronavirus, which generated from China's Wuhan, to the entire world," Koca wrote on Twitter.

The heavy car traffic in Turkey's largest city Istanbul prompted Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on late May 8 to issue yet another call for people to strictly adhere to rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on April 27 proposed to establish a new board by the government for studying strategies on pandemic-exit.

"New expert teams should be established for the exit of the outbreak," the party's spokesperson Faik Öztrak said told a press conference.