ISTANBUL, TURKEY
The Istanbul Medical Chamber drew attention to the failure to distribute free masks, two weeks after Communications Minister for Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Fahrettin Altun) shared on Twitter that masks will be distributed to citizens aged 20-65, free of charge. The Chamber also emphasised that it is too late for mask distribution to be accepted as the only measure of prevention against the pandemic.
The Istanbul Chamber of Physicians made a written statement regarding the promises made by AKP gangleader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other authorized institutions, to fight off the Covid-19 outbreak. The chamber warned about the spread of the disease in a statement titled “It is embarrassing to be unable to distribute three or five masks. Where are the masks?”
Stating that the sale of masks has no legal basis, the Chamber emphasised that the sale of these masks was only defacto banned by Erdogan.
“It was announced that masks will be distributed by PTT (state-owned cargo company) and then pharmacies; free of charge. Despite two weeks passing since this announcement, there has not been any regular or sufficient distribution. And the people who are able to get a hold of these masks complain about their poor quality.”
The statement continued: “Finally, according to the ‘Medical Mask Internal Facilities Production Guide’ published by the Ministry of Health, public hospitals will start to produce masks for their own needs. This indicates that the stocks are decreasing and this decrease is caused by the aid and exports to abroad.
With Turkey’s resources, having a huge textile industry, the needs of health professionals, and citizens could easily be met. With the right management, it is possible to easily solve the mask problem.”
