Turkey passes China in number of coronavirus cases

Turkey’s recorded number of coronavirus cases passed China’s by Monday, as experts continued to question the accuracy of the government-reported statistics.

Turkey has confirmed at least 90,980 coronavirus cases, surpassing China’s reported total of at least 83,853, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The Turkish death toll also climbed to 2,140, according to government figures, but there is some data that suggests that number could be considerably higher.

Data compiled by The New York Times found that the capital, Istanbul, experienced about 2,100 more overall deaths than expected from March 9 to April 12, much more than officials have reported for all of Turkey. 

The expected deaths were calculated using weekly averages of deaths from the last two years. While not all deaths counted this year are directly associated with the coronavirus, the spike in expected deaths occurred at the same time the pandemic has been spreading.

The Turkish government has defended its reaction to the outbreak, saying it acted quickly to stop flights and travel into the country from the five most affected countries in February. The government also shut down schools, restaurants and bars in mid-March.

But some experts say the government’s efforts to stop international traveling and to trace the contacts of infected patients were lacking. 

“In February, they did nothing, although it was known the disease was there,” Sinan Adiyaman, head of the Turkish Medical Association, told the Times.

Turkey reported its first death on March 17, although the Times’s data shows Istanbul’s death toll was already above historical averages by that time.