Turkey: Omicron’s BA.5 sub-variant blamed for coronavirus outbreak

Experts attribute the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Turkey to Omicron’s BA.5 sub-variant.

Tayar Shasmaz, a professor of public health at Mersin University’s medical school, told New China that cases rose sharply in June because of this sub-variant, which spreads faster and infects faster, even outdoors.

BA.5, which the World Health Organization (WHO) describes as a “variant of concern”, is much more infectious than others, but does not cause more severe disease or more deaths, according to the same expert.

Turkey’s Health Ministry announced on Saturday that in the week from July 25 to August 1, 406,000 cases of SARS-CoV-2 and 337 deaths due to complications of COVID-19 were recorded, compared to 365,000 and 157 respectively the previous week.

Officially, Turkey has recorded almost 100,000 deaths out of a total of 15.8 million infections.

“This rapid increase has come much earlier than predicted,” Mr. Shasmaz said, predicting that the numbers will worsen from next month when the weather cools and more people are indoors.

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has recently been calling on the government to reinstate at least some measures, such as wearing masks indoors.

The proportion of the population who have received booster doses — third and/or fourth — of the COVID-19 vaccines remains low in Turkey, according to the medical association, which recommended that citizens with obesity, diabetes and cancer patients take more precautions. Doctors point out that older people are at higher risk.

SOURCE: AMPE