ISTANBUL: The World Health Organization’s office in Turkey has reiterated its call for reporting COVID-19 data in line with WHO guidances to “harmonize data collection and response measures.”
WHO’s statement comes days after Turkey’s health minister revealed that the daily COVID-19 figures published by the ministry since July 29 reflected only patients with symptoms, excluding asymptomatic positive cases.
Critics have questioned the veracity of the case and death toll numbers Turkey has reported during the pandemic.
The WHO statement commended Turkey on its increased testing capacity and contact tracing efforts. It said, “Turkey has been isolating all COVID-19 positive cases, regardless of their symptoms.”
It added that the WHO has been consulting with members, including Turkey, to improve reporting and data collection.
The WHO defines confirmed cases as “a person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection, irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms.”
But on Thursday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters: “We are talking about people with symptoms. We are giving this as the daily number of patients.”
The latest official numbers from Friday show 321,512 confirmed patients and 8,325 deaths from COVID-19 since March.
WHO calls on Turkey to follow its COVID-19 reporting guides
https://arab.news/mernz
WHO calls on Turkey to follow its COVID-19 reporting guides
- WHO’s statement comes days after Turkey’s health minister revealed that the daily COVID-19 figures published by the ministry since July 29 reflected only patients with symptoms
- Critics have questioned the veracity of the case and death toll numbers Turkey has reported during the pandemic
Israeli forces’ assault on Qabatiya continues into second day
- Residents of Jenin town forced to evacuate, properties seized
- Troops dig up roads, cut electricity supply
RAMALLAH: Israeli troops questioned residents, searched homes and damaged buildings and roads in Qabatiya, south of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday as their operation in the town continued for a second day.
Some residents were forced to evacuate as soldiers took over a number of properties, including a school, to use as a base and to hold and question people, the Palestine News Agency WAFA reported.
Bulldozers were used to dig up streets and create roadblocks at key access points, while the electricity supply to several neighborhoods was cut off.
Also on Saturday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles at the entrance to the town of Bil’in, west of Ramallah, but there were no reports of any injuries to people or damage to property, WAFA said.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that Israeli forces and settlers carried out 2,144 attacks in November, mainly in the governorates of Ramallah and Al-Bireh (360), Hebron (348), Bethlehem (342) and Nablus (334).
Since early Saturday, Israeli forces have closed entrances to several villages and towns north and west of Ramallah, including Ni’lin and Kharbatha Bani Harith, causing traffic congestion and making it hard for Palestinians to move around.
Israeli soldiers also closed the Atara military checkpoint, making it harder for Palestinians to travel, especially for those going to and from villages northwest and west of Ramallah and from northern areas. A report by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in October said that the number of permanent and temporary checkpoints, including iron gates, across the Palestinian territories had risen to 916.
Israeli authorities have erected 243 iron checkpoint gates since the start of the conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Dec. 20, Israel's military said that they killed a person in Qabatiya who “hurled a block toward the soldiers.”
It later said that the killing was under review, after Palestinian media aired brief security footage in which the youth appears to emerge from an alley and is shot by troops as he approaches them without throwing anything.
An Israeli reservist soldier rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man as he prayed on a roadside in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, after earlier firing shots in the area, the Israeli military said.
"Footage was received of an armed individual running over a Palestinian individual," it said in a statement, adding the individual was a reservist and his military service had been terminated.
The reservist acted "in severe violation of his authority" and his weapon had been confiscated, the military said.
