Turkey's strong virus battle vivid in numbers

ANKARA

With its high recovery rate and the number of active cases rapidly declining, the success of Turkish healthcare system against the novel coronavirus has become apparent in numbers.

While active cases and recovery rate stand at 58.03% and 33.76%, respectively in the world, Turkey's recovery rate has climbed to 59.36% and active cases correspond to 36.95%, according to the latest official figures announced on Wednesday.

Since its first confirmed case on March 10, Turkey has so far conducted 1,234,724 diagnosis tests and a total of 131,744 people have tested positive for the virus.

The death toll currently stands at 3,584 and 78,202 people fully recovered from the disease. So far, 10.6% of the tested people in Turkey were diagnosed with COVID-19. The fatality ratio between March 17 -- when the first death was registered -- and May 6 is 2.7%.

The COVID-19 tests aim to diagnose the patients and isolate them from the public to curb the spread of the virus. The public hospitals -- as well as the university and private hospitals, and laboratories -- authorized by the Health Ministry, conduct tests free of charge.

On March 19, the Health Ministry shared data on the number of tests for the first time and said 1,981 people were tested, while a total of 15,422 tests were conducted by the end of March. On April 29, the ministry said 43,498 tests were conducted on that day alone.

The ratios of tests and number of cases are as follows:

The number of discharged patients also rose significantly. On March 25, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 26 citizens, including two seniors, left the hospital upon full recovery.

Then, the recovery rate in Turkey quickly climbed and number of recovered patients surpassed that of the positive cases on April 24. While 3,122 people were diagnosed with the coronavirus, 3,246 people were discharged following the successful treatment period.

Notably on April 27, a total of 4,651 people recovered, whereas the tally of cases stood at 2,131.

On May 3, the number of total cases was 126,045, while the recovery figure amounted to 63,151, meaning the number of recovered patients was finally ahead of the total infections.

The recovery figures in Turkey go as in the following:

Intubation, intensive-care figures

Today, a total of 1,278 patients are treated in intensive care units, whereas intubated patients are tallied at 669.

In the past week, the intensive care ratio of patients in comparison to the total number of patients shifted from 1.25% to 0.97%, while the ratio of those receiving treatment through ventilators changed from 0.66% to 0.50%.

Turkey and world in comparison

Figures show that Turkey's recovery rate is better in comparison with the overall ratio across the globe.

According to the latest figures collected on May 6, the ratio of active patients in Turkey declined to 36.95% and recovery rate has climbed to 59.36%.

As for the rest of the world, the active case ratio stands at 58.03% and recovery rate is 33.76%.

In Turkey, 0.97% of the patients diagnosed with the virus are receiving treatment in the intensive care units, whereas this figure around the world stands at 1.29%.

Turkish death toll ratio is currently 2.7%, while the global ratio is 6.91%.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas