An air of optimism is apparent in remarks of government officials nowadays, but they are almost immediately followed with stern warnings to follow government measures to contain COVID-19 outbreak.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told a press conference on Wednesday evening that the outbreak is in a period of peaking in Turkey and the country is experiencing a downward trend. “But if we do not comply with measures, there can be a new wave of cases,” he added.

The death rate of coronavirus patients continued to fall on Wednesday, as the number of recoveries hit 5,231. The country on Wednesday confirmed 89 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 3,081.

The total number of registered coronavirus infections in the country increased to 117,589 as 2,936 more people tested positive for the virus, Turkey's Ministry of Health announced in a statement. So far, a total of 44,040 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, according to the statement. It added that 43,498 tests were conducted over the past day, with the overall number of tests reaching 991,613. Turkey is currently treating 1,574 patients in intensive care units, noted the statement.

Koca says Turkey has been largely successful in containing the outbreak. “Secret of our success is compliance with measures and acting meticulously. After March 11 (the date of the first case), we gradually took measures, and it affected the current situation. Early measures were helpful. To sum it up, measures, early diagnosis and rapid treatment were keys to our success,” Koca said.

He said the death rate of coronavirus patients in intensive care units has fallen from 58% to 10%.

He added that Turkey has 5,849 filiation units currently on duty, and these units have detected 468,390 people in the contact chain of COVID-19 patients. Filiation is the screening of the chain of contact in case of an infectious disease.

"This success does not mean that we will give up on measures but cling to them instead. We will continue measures throughout this month," Koca said. A total of 7,428 health workers have been infected," he added.

Turkey had halted international flights and closed border crossings in the first stage of its fight against the pandemic. It later introduced more strict measures, including the closure of schools, restaurants, bars and other crowded venues. It also started imposing weekend curfews, that, turned into four-day and three-day lockdowns last week and this week respectively in big cities. Travel between 31 cities are also subject to permit. Police and gendarmerie units, meanwhile, patrol the streets to warn people to embrace social distancing and some busy venues, like marketplaces, are open only to those whose body temperatures were measured before their admission.

Quarantine for returnees

Some 30,000 citizens who recently returned from other countries still reside in student dormitories throughout Turkey to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine required to curb the coronavirus, Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu announced Thursday.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and related measures including travel bans, Turkey repatriated more than 40,000 citizens stranded abroad and plans to bring in some 25,000 others during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Initially starting with countries where the outbreak was raging, Turkey imposed a 14-day quarantine period for everyone coming from abroad starting from early March, placing arrived passengers in student dormitories administered by the General Directorate of Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories (KYK).

Kasapoğlu said 29,284 citizens currently spend their quarantine periods in dormitories in 76 provinces, while 34,452 people so far completed their quarantine and departed for their homes.

Student dormitories continue to play a critical role in the fight against the coronavirus, Kasapoğlu said, citing the coordination efforts of the Foreign Ministry for repatriation of citizens and the Interior Ministry for their settlement in dormitories and arranging their departures.

Kasapoğlu noted that largely positive feedback from citizens who spend their quarantines in dormitories is a source of pride and joy for the ministry, adding that they aim to return dormitories to their real owners – students – once the outbreak is over.

Nonagenarians recover

Two 94-year-old Turkish women successfully recovered after contracting COVID-19.

According to doctors, elderly people with chronic diseases are in the highest risk group, and most of the time they are unable to recover from COVID-19.

Safiye Aybar and Rabia Türkkan are residents of the northwestern Sakarya province.

Aybar and Türkkan, who became ill at Hendek Melek Nişancı Nursing Home on April 11 and were diagnosed with COVID-19, started receiving treatment immediately. After successfully completing treatment, Aybar and Türkkan were discharged from the hospital amid applause and sent by ambulance to the nursing home.

Foreign students prefer Turkey

The majority of 150,000 international students and particularly those from Middle Eastern countries undertaking studies in various Turkish educational institutions have preferred to stay back and continue their studies amid the lockdown enforced due to the outbreak.

Since most of the universities in Turkey have started online classes, the students sitting back in their dormitories have remained busy with their assignments and projects.

Education officials confirmed to Anadolu Agency (AA) that international students have been put in state-run dormitories under strict restrictions to obey safety measures like social distancing, etc., to stem the spread of the virus.

"The online education system is good; however, there are some practical classes that cannot be done via the online system," said Lama, a Palestinian student at Ankara University.

Another student Hamza from Yemen, studying economics, spends his time reading and performing some sports activities at the dormitory.

"The online education system is fine, we follow our homework through the internet, yet I want to return to normal classes soon, where there is real interaction between the students and the teachers," he said.

Hamza added that the dormitory management has taken elaborate measures to disinfect rooms to prevent the spread of infections among international students.

Speaking to AA, head of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) Abdullah Eren said his organization is working with the government to address the requirements of scholarship holders. YTB is an official body that supervises 15,000 international students, studying in Turkish universities on scholarships.

"YTB continues to follow and be in close communication with all students staying in dormitories, a quick response, and the management team is constantly following up with students' issues and inquiries, making sure their needs are met throughout the quarantine process," he said.

Iraqi student Arkan who is enrolled in Islamic theology and religious studies at Ankara University said the dormitories have restricted their movement and they are not allowed to go outside. "We understand this is for our safety. We have been placed in a state-run dormitory with all the safety and health measures," he said.

About his schedule, he said that he is dividing the day between studying, working on projects and doing sports activities as there are some sports facilities in the dormitory.

Eren said that the YTB is coordinating with relevant institutions in the field of accommodation, education and health to make sure that international students are taken care of.

He said the organization arranges cultural activities, concerts and seminars online to keep the students busy.

"YTB has developed online activities during this period. The International Student Academy programs are currently also continuing online, where students conduct online teleconference sessions with their respective trainers," he added.