Coronavirus spreads to Turkey, risking a rapid

outbreak
By Ulas Atesci
16 March 2020

As of Sunday night, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey rose to 18

from the six reported previously. At least 3,000 people are under quarantine, according
to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca’s report on the latest caseload statistics.

Though all of Turkey’s neighbors except war-ravaged Syria had reported cases of
coronavirus in recent weeks, and neighboring Iran is an epicenter of the pandemic, with
thousands of cases and hundreds of dead, Turkey had not officially reported any cases
until last Wednesday. Koca then confirmed during an emergency press conference that a
Turkish man with a high fever and cough had been diagnosed as having the virus and
had been isolated.

On Tuesday, the health minister had told the press: “Europe is very late in taking
measures and it is still being done too slowly,” adding: “It is highly likely this outbreak
is currently in Turkey. There are no confirmed cases of this virus.” However, no serious
measures have been taken inside the country.

The border with Iran was simply closed. All passengers arriving from abroad were
screened, and all flights to and from Italy, China, South Korea, Iran and Iraq halted.
Officials pointed to their use of thermal cameras at international airports, but the health
ministry only advised those coming from high-risk areas to self-quarantine for 14 days
upon their return.

Koca declared on Wednesday that the “infected individual contracted the virus after
returning from Europe,” asserting that he and his family members and those who came
into contact with him were under surveillance. The minister refused to give details about
him, such as his location, age, etc.

While Koca was claiming that “Our country is prepared for this, all necessary measures
to prevent the spread [of the virus] have been taken,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan boasted that “no virus is stronger than our measures.”

The developments following these pronouncements demonstrated that the Turkish

government, like its counterparts in the US and across Europe, was not prepared for an
outbreak that has already infected more than 150,000 and killed at least 5,800
worldwide. While Turkish officials claimed they would develop and also export their
own testing kit, no large-scale testing has taken place to prevent a rapid spread of the
disease.

“One reason for the delay in recorded cases inside Turkey is the smaller number of tests
conducted,” Dr. Özlem Azap, an infectious disease researcher at Başkent University in
Ankara, bluntly told Al-Monitor after the first case. Azap went on: “South Korea
performed nearly 2,000 tests per one million people, Italy 400 per million people, while
Turkey has performed 11 tests per million people as of last week, and these figures
haven’t increased much in recent days.” As of Sunday, only about 5,000 people in
Turkey had been tested for the coronavirus.

Despite every indication that the coronavirus was already in Turkey, the government
waited for the diagnosis of the first case before taking more extensive measures, thus
wasting critical time. On Thursday, presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın reported new
measures following a five-hour meeting presided over by Erdoğan in Ankara.

Primary, middle and high schools will close for a week beginning March 16, after
which “students will continue their education through the Internet and television
through remote education system.” There is no proposal as to who will take care of
these children at home while their parents go to work. Universities will also be closed
for three weeks. Kalın added, “All sporting events in the country until the end of April
will be without fans.”

On Friday, the health minister announced the second case—and then more three cases.
All five cases were directly related. He also said Turkish citizens who have visited
foreign countries “will have to take 14 days off from work and spend the time in self-
isolation as of Monday.” In fact, many infected people coming from abroad will
unintentionally spread the virus under conditions where there is no obligatory
quarantine.

At the same press conference, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan said
Turkey had suspended flights to nine more European countries: Germany, France,
Spain, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The condition of the sixth infected individual, who returned from an umrah [pilgrimage]
to Mecca and was not connected to any of the previous cases, sparked particular
concern and criticism on social media: at least 15,000 more people returned from
pilgrimages last week without being put into quarantine. Although they were advised to
stay at home for 14 days, officials of Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP) met with some umrah travelers, posting photos on social media. It is now widely
suspected that the coronavirus has already spread across the country.

After bitter criticism on social media of this obvious blunder, the health ministry placed
a group of more than 3,000 people who began returning on Sunday into quarantine.

Meanwhile, students living in public dormitories in Ankara and Konya were evacuated
at midnight to make room for the newly quarantined, though there are many empty
public or private places available. Reportedly, several public dormitories in Istanbul will
be evacuated today for thousands newly arrived from abroad. In addition, 57 Turkish
citizens coming from Baghdad were also moved to a quarantine location in Ankara on
Saturday.

Public allegations that some patients have not been tested because they had not
contacted anyone from abroad raise questions about the state of Turkey’s health care
system. Though the government has proclaimed its readiness in the event of an
outbreak, the country’s public health system has been systematically gutted and
privatized over the past two decades. The Erdoğan government has cut funds for public
hospitals and promoted private ones, and also special forms of health insurance.
Although there is national health insurance that is supposedly universal, it does not
cover millions of unemployed workers. Moreover, officials in Turkey’s public health
care system had already sounded the alarm before the coronavirus pandemic, and a
growing number of working-class families have to go to private hospitals to get high-
quality care—though it is very expensive.

While the European epicenter of the pandemic, Italy, has 3.2 hospital beds per 1,000
people, Turkey has just 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000. In Istanbul, a city of more than 15
million, this figure is just 2.5. Moreover, one fifth of these approximately 250,000 beds
in Turkey belong to private hospitals.

According to the latest official health ministry figures in 2016, Turkey has only 33,000
beds in its intensive care units, and these units already have an 80 percent occupancy
rate. On Friday, the health ministry declared there were only 25 hospitals across Turkey
where patients could be tested for the coronavirus. The ministry designated three
hospitals in Istanbul, but all were overcrowded before the pandemic even began.

Given the inadequacy of Turkey’s health care infrastructure for an entirely predictable
pandemic, these health care conditions and the government response threaten to inflict a
preventable catastrophe on millions of working people.

In addition, nearly 10 million workers in Turkey work in 1.8 million workplaces where
there are no official safety conditions, risking a very rapid spread of the virus.

While wildcat strikes erupted across Italy to demand the idling of plants during the
pandemic, discussion of strike action was also spreading among working people in
Turkey. In recent days, many have used the “paid leave or strike” or “paid leave against
corona” hash tags on Twitter to demand paid sick leave for all workers, rejecting the
demands of employers that they continue to work despite the danger of catching or
spreading the disease.

Providing high-quality health care for all and taking the necessary measures to halt the
pandemic’s spread requires a political mobilization of the working class in Turkey and
internationally.

Bangladesh government downplays COVID-19 threat

as job losses mount
By Wimal Perera
16 March 2020

The global coronavirus pandemic has begun to impact on the people of Bangladesh, one
of the world’s poorest countries, despite being downplayed by the Awami League
government of Prime Minister Sheik Hasina.

While the government, like its counterparts internationally, is seeking to aid industry
owners, workers are bearing the brunt of the crisis.
According to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR)
there are five confirmed COVID-19 cases, three people have fully recovered, 10 are in
isolation and four others are in institutional quarantine.

IEDCR director Meerjady Sabrina Flora told the media that another 2,314 people are
under self-quarantine in their homes. These figures, however, are doubtful, given that
almost 600,000 people have entered the country since January 21.

Some expatriate Bangladeshi workers living in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates
and Italy have been reported infected. Around 342 people who arrived from Italy
between March 14 and 15 were sent to the army-controlled Ashkona Hajj Camp, near
the Dhaka airport, for medical tests under the IEDCR. Following protests over the lack
of food in the camp, hundreds of people were released, authorities claiming that they
had tested negative.

Bangladeshi health experts told the Daily Star yesterday that “entire communities were
at risk” over “poor monitoring” of their self-isolation.

Thousands of workers face losing their jobs, mainly in the apparel sector, which is the
country’s biggest export industry, with 4,000 factories and five million workers.

SS Leather Industries in the Jessore district has placed more than half its workers on
leave without pay, the Dhaka Tribune reported on March 7. The factory manager said
exports had “dropped to one-third because of the deadly coronavirus spread in China.”
The factory is 100 percent export-oriented and sends more than 60 percent of its
products to China.

In the Savar garment hub just outside the capital Dhaka, three factories—Raquef
Apparels Washing and Packaging Industry, Passion Jeans and Passion Apparels and
Ware—were shut down in February, laying off some 3,000 workers due to continued
export losses. The companies failed to even pay outstanding wages, but promised to do
so by March 29.

On March 6, the Asian Development Bank released a report titled “The economic
impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on developing Asia.” It warned that 894,930 workers
would be laid off in Bangladesh if the virus spread.

Clothing companies in Bangladesh depend heavily on imports of raw materials and

machinery from China. More than 50 percent of materials for garments and related
goods, and about 40 percent of machinery and spare parts for this industry come from
China.

The coronavirus pandemic is intensifying the industry’s slump. According to the

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA), more than 70
factories closed last year and 1,200 in the past four years, sacking more than 50,000
workers.

The COVID-19 fallout has begun to affect garment exports, which were already
worsening during recent months due to the global economic downturn. Garment exports
dropped to $US26.24 billion, down nearly 4.8 percent, during the July-February period
compared to the corresponding months the previous year.

In February, export earnings dropped to a little over $US3.32 billion, down by 1.8
percent compared to the previous year, primarily due to the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic.

To safeguard corporate profits, the BGMEA has put forward a nine-point proposal,
including a proposal to reschedule the bank loans of garment industry owners.

Even before the virus spread began, the government had rescheduled defaulted loans
last year, amounting to 502 billion taka ($US6 billion), the highest level for a single
year. Apparel Resources noted: “Bangladesh’s apparel businessmen are the top loan
defaulters.”

After the first reported case of coronavirus in Bangladesh on March 8, people rushed to
buy hand sanitisers and face masks, leading to shortages and sending prices soaring by
up to about 400 percent.

As popular anxiety rose, the government tried to generate a false sense of relief by
offering various promises and advice, laced with contempt. The prime minister said the
buying up of safety materials was “nothing other than madness,” adding: “It’s not that
this is an imminently fatal virus.” However, she advised people to keep their “hands
clean at all times.”

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque even claimed that the virus was not
dangerous, unlike Ebola and SARS.

Maleque said 400 hospital beds had been arranged in each divisional city, 100 beds in
district-level healthcare facilities and 50 beds in subdistrict-level facilities. However, the
standard of these facilities is very low.

A Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) survey conducted in big cities

reported this month that over 98 percent of healthcare centres have no proper water,
sanitation and hygiene facilities.

The government has presented a so-called National Action Plan to tackle the virus.
DGHS head Professor Abul Kalam Azad outlined a four-level emergency plan,
including testing, quarantining of suspected cases and locking down areas with a high
number of patients.

However, the government’s boast of preparedness is a fraud. Professor Muzaherul Huq,

founder of the country’s public health foundation, expressed scepticism about the
“ability to implement the plan.” He told the Daily Star on March 6: “The first task is to
prepare the people to execute the plan. Campaigns should be launched immediately. We
have not seen any such initiative yet.”

Minister Maleque said authorities would install new thermal scanners to screen
passengers at all the ports of entry, including Dhaka, Chittagong Sylhet airport,
Chittagong seaport and the Benapole land port.
Since there are no archway thermal scanners in any of the airports and land ports, health
workers check passengers’ body temperature using hand-held infrared thermometers.
This can give faulty readings. Ports also lack trained manpower, the Daily Star reported
on March 11.

The government imposed a ban on “on-arrival visas” for China, Italy, South Korea and
Iran, and urged Bangladeshis returning from six countries—China, Italy, South Korea,
Singapore, Iran and Thailand—to remain in self-quarantine for 14 days.

The government also asked 10 million Bangladeshi expatriates living overseas not to
return now. The DGHS decided to keep passengers arriving from 65 countries in self-
quarantine for 14 days. On March 12, restrictions were placed on travel to and from
India, Kuwait and Qatar.

Only around 3,000 COVID-19 testing kits were said to be available. The government
has allocated just a pittance, $6 million (500 million taka), to combat COVID-19, while
the World Bank has pledged $100 million. The annual health budget is just 0.89 percent
of the gross domestic product, that is, 257.32 billion taka, while the World Health
Organisation’s recommendation is 5 percent.

The population’s fear of the government’s negligence in terms of protecting people

from the pandemic was heightened by last year’s dengue fever outbreak. The highest-
ever number of deaths—164—were recorded, with 101,354 people infected.

A judicial probe criticised the Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City
Corporation—responsible for the administration of the capital—for lack of
preparedness.

Coronavirus: un detonador de la crisis

potenciado por el lucro

Por Claudio Katz | 16/03/2020 | Opinión

Fuentes: Rebelión

 La crisis económica mundial se profundiza a un ritmo tan vertiginoso como la

pandemia. Ya quedó atrás la reducción de la tasa de crecimiento y el brusco freno del
aparato productivo chino. Ahora se derrumbó el precio del petróleo, se desplomaron las
Bolsas y se instaló el pánico en el mundo financiero. Muchos sugieren que […]

 La crisis económica mundial se profundiza a un ritmo tan vertiginoso como la

pandemia. Ya quedó atrás la reducción de la tasa de crecimiento y el brusco freno del
aparato productivo chino. Ahora se derrumbó el precio del petróleo, se desplomaron las
Bolsas y se instaló el pánico en el mundo financiero.

Muchos sugieren que el desempeño aceptable de la economía fue abruptamente alterado

por el coronavirus. También estiman que la pandemia puede provocar el reinicio de un
colapso semejante al 2008. Pero en esa oportunidad fue inmediatamente visible la
culpabilidad de los banqueros, la codicia de los especuladores y los efectos de la
desregulación neoliberal. Ahora sólo se discute el origen y las consecuencias de un
virus, como si economía fuera otro paciente afectado por el terremoto sanitario.

            En realidad, el coronavirus detonó las fuertes tensiones previas de los mercados
y los enormes desequilibrios que acumula el capitalismo contemporáneo. Acentuó una
desaceleración de la economía que ya había debilitado a Europa y jaqueaba a Estados
Unidos.

            El divorcio entre esa retracción y la continuada euforia de las Bolsas anticipaba
el estallido de la típica burbuja, que periódicamente infla y pincha Wall Street. El
coronavirus ha precipitado ese desplome, que no obedece a ninguna convalecencia
imprevista. Sólo repite la conocida patología de la financiarización.

            A diferencia del 2008, la nueva la burbuja no se localiza en el endeudamiento de

las familias o en la fragilidad de los bancos. Se concentra en los pasivos de las grandes
empresas (deuda corporativa) y en las obligaciones de muchos estados (deuda
soberana). Además, hay serias sospechas sobre la salud de los fondos de inversión, que
aumentaron su preponderancia en la compra-venta de bonos.

            La economía capitalista genera esos temblores y ninguna vacuna puede

atemperar las convulsiones que desata la ambición por el lucro. Pero la miseria, el
desempleo y los sufrimientos populares que provocan esos terremotos han quedado
ahora diluidos por el terror que suscita la pandemia.

            También la caída del precio del petróleo antecedió al tsunami sanitario. Dos
grandes productores (Rusia y Arabia Saudita) y un jugador de peso (Estados Unidos),
disputan la fijación del precio de referencia del combustible. Esa rivalidad quebrantó el
organismo que contenía la desvalorización del crudo (OPEP más 10).

La sobreproducción que precipita ese abaratamiento del petróleo es otro desequilibrio

subyacente. El excedente de mercancías -que se extiende a los insumos y las materias
primas- es la causa de la gran batalla que enfrenta a Estados Unidos con China.

            Los dos principales determinantes de la crisis actual -financiarización y

sobreproducción- afectan a todas las firmas, que empapelaron con títulos los mercados o
se endeudaron, para gestionar los excedentes invendibles. El coronavirus es totalmente
ajeno a esos desequilibrios, pero su aparición encendió la mecha de un arsenal saturado
de mercancías y dinero.

Varios especialistas han destacado también cómo las transformaciones capitalistas de

las últimas cuatro décadas inciden sobre la magnitud de la pandemia. Observan que las
contaminaciones anteriores- separadas por lapsos prolongados- irrumpen ahora con
mayor frecuencia. Ocurrió con el SARS (2002-03), la gripe porcina H1N1 (2009), el
MERS (2012), el Ébola (2014-16), el zika (2015) y el dengue (2016).

Es muy visible la conexión de esos brotes con la urbanización. El hacinamiento de la

población y su forzada proximidad multiplica la diseminación de los gérmenes.
También resulta evidente el efecto de la globalización, que incrementó en forma
exponencial el número de viajeros y la consiguiente expansión de los contagios a todos
los rincones del planeta. La forma en que el coronavirus ha provocado en pocas
semanas el colapso de la aviación, el turismo y los cruceros es un contundente retrato de
ese impacto.

            El capitalismo ha globalizado en forma vertiginosa muchas actividades

lucrativas, sin extender esa remodelación de las fronteras al sistema sanitario. Al
contrario, con las privatizaciones y los ajustes fiscales se afianzó la desprotección en
todos los países, frente a enfermedades que se mundializan con inusitada velocidad.

 Algunos estudiosos también recuerdan, que luego SARS fueron desechados varios
programas de investigación para conocer y prevenir los nuevos virus. Prevalecieron los
intereses de los conglomerados farmacéuticos, que priorizan la venta de medicamentos a
los enfermos solventes. Un ejemplo patético de esta primacía del lucro se observó en
Estados Unidos al comienzo de la pandemia con el cobro del test de detección del
coronavirus. Esa ausencia de gratuidad redujo el conocimiento de los casos, en un
momento clave para el diagnóstico.
Otros expertos destacan cómo se ha destruido el hábitat de muchas especies silvestres,
para forzar la industrialización de actividades agropecuarias. Esa devastación del medio
ambiente ha creado las condiciones para la mutación acelerada o la fabricación nuevos
virus.

            China ha sido un epicentro de esos cambios. En ningún otro país convergió en
forma tan vertiginosa la urbanización, con la integración a las cadenas globales de valor
y la adopción de nuevas normas de alimentación.

            En la crema del establishment, el coronavirus ya recreó el mismo temor que

invadió a todos los gobiernos, durante el colapso financiero del 2008. Por eso se repiten
las conductas y se prioriza el socorro de las grandes empresas. Pero existen muchas
dudas sobre la eficacia actual de ese libreto.

Con menores tasas de interés se intenta contrarrestar el desplome del nivel de actividad.
Pero el costo del dinero ya se ubica en un piso que torna incierto el efecto reactivador
del nuevo abaratamiento. Las mismas incógnitas generan la inyección masiva de dinero
y la reducción de impuestos.

            El dólar y los bonos del tesoro de EstadosUnidos se han convertido nuevamente
en el principal refugio de los capitales, que buscan protección frente a la crisis. Pero la
primera potencia está comandada en la actualidad por un mandatario brutal, que
utilizará esos recursos para el proyecto imperial de restaurar la hegemonía
norteamericana.

            Por esa razón, a diferencia del 2008 prevalece una total ausencia de
coordinación frente al colapso que sobrevuela a la economía. La sintonía que exhibía el
G 20 ha sido reemplazada por las decisiones unilaterales que adoptan las potencias. Se
ha impuesto un principio defensivo de salvación a costa del vecino.

No sólo Estados Unidos define medidas sin consultar a Europa (suspensión de vuelos),
sino que los propios países del viejo continente actúan por su propia cuenta, olvidando
la pertenencia a una asociación común. Todas las consecuencias de una globalización de
la economía -en el viejo marco de los estados nacionales- afloran en el temblor actual.
Nadie sabe cómo lidiará el capitalismo con este escenario.

            Las terribles consecuencias de la crisis para la economía latinoamericana están a

la vista. El desplome de los precios de las materias primas es complementado por
masivas salidas de capital y grandes devaluaciones de la moneda en Brasil, Chile o
México. El colapso que padece Argentina comienza a transformarse en un espejo de
padecimientos para toda la región.

            Es evidente que el coronavirus golpeará a los más empobrecidos y producirá

tragedias inimaginables, si llega a los países con sistemas de salud inexistentes,
deteriorados o demolidos. Por la elevada contagiosidad de la pandemia y su fuerte
impacto sobre las personas mayores, la estructura hospitalaria ya trastabilla en las
economías avanzadas.

            En el debut del coronavirus se multiplicaron los cuestionamientos al

comportamiento de los distintos gobiernos. Hubo fuertes indicios de irresponsabilidad,
ocultamiento de datos o demoras en la prevención, para no afectar los negocios. Pero la
drástica reacción posterior comienza a aproximarse a un manejo de economía de guerra.
En ese viraje ha incidido el contagio sufrido por varios miembros de la elite de
ministros, gerentes y figuras del espectáculo.

También los medios de comunicación oscilan entre el ocultamiento de los problemas y

el estímulo del terror colectivo. Algunos extreman ese miedo para propagar alegatos
racistas, hostilizar a China o denigrar a los inmigrantes. Pero todos achacan al
coronavirus la responsabilidad de la crisis, como si el capitalismo fuera ajeno a la
convulsión en curso.

Los poderosos buscan chivos emisarios para exculparse de los dramas que originan,
potencian o enmascaran. El coronavirus es el gran peligro del momento, pero el
capitalismo es la enfermedad perdurable de la sociedad actual.