New information regarding a cover up of Covid 19 data by the Turkish Health Ministry has been revealed. It was reported that data on the youngest death due to Covid 19 occurred on April 3rd, was not recorded and was covered up.
According to Ahmet Kanbal’s report published on Mesopotamia Agency (MA), the incident occurred in Mardin (Merdîn) Public Hospital. A Syrian family attended a hospital on April 1st with their baby, Hacer Engin, born in 16th December 2019. The baby began to show symptoms on March 28th and was taken into an emergency isolation ward but lost her life on April 3rd.
According to Mardin Medical Chamber’s (MTO) records, Hace Engin had tested positive for Covid 19. As a 110-day-old-baby, Engin was the youngest case to lose her life due to the pandemic, however, the Ministery of Health and City Health Administrative had made no statement regarding the incident.
Important scientific data on Covid 19 was covered up
MTO chair Mustafa Volkan Binbaş said that the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Monitor Committe member Prof. Dr. Kayıhan Pala had drawn attention to the missing data previously, however, he had not been listened to and asserted that the information regarding the case was important for both Turkey and the world.
Stating that it is not clear at which age the pandemic affects humans. Binbaş said, “A three-and-a half-month-old-baby loses her life. This fact is not declared to public. It is not presented for the attention of scientists. No vital information which could have been important in relation to which age ranges the pandemic becomes deadly, was shared with scientists.”
There have been lots of violations
Noting that the incidents indicated various violations had occurred in several points in this incident, from the right to access for information and children’s rights, Binbaş said, the issue should be clarified.
Suggesting that if this incident had of occurred in a ‘western city’ rather than an ‘eastern city’, the same attitude would not have been shown, Binbaş stated, “We think that there are different professional implementations for the ‘west’ and the ‘east’ of the country, in addition, those attitudes effect the struggle carried out against Covid-19 and the outbreak. We have no doubts at all that double standards have been practised in healthcare as it is in the legal domain.”
