People wearing masks walk on Konur Street in Ankara, Turkey, on Sept. 28, 2021. Turkey is considering expanding the use of COVID-19 vaccine cards to enter packed indoor venues in the upcoming period, the Hurriyet daily reported on Tuesday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is considering expanding the use of COVID-19 vaccine cards to enter packed indoor venues in the upcoming period, the Hurriyet daily reported on Tuesday.
Proof of vaccination will be compulsory for restaurants, cafes, and shopping malls to curb the pandemic during the winter months, when citizens will spend most of their time indoors, according to the report.
Mehmet Ceyhan, head of the Department of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases of the Ankara-based Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, told Xinhua that the main areas of concern should be workplaces, public vehicles, and some crowded events like wedding ceremonies where the contamination risk is significantly high.
The government should also adopt alternate working hours for workers to reduce jamming in public transportation, he added.
Under the current regulation, Turks are required to present a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination for domestic travel and entry to cinemas, theaters, and concert halls.
Meanwhile, the vaccination rate of those who received double vaccine doses in the country of 83 million reached 53 percent on Tuesday.
Ceyhan noted that the vaccination rate of adults needs to be as much as 80 percent to achieve social immunity as Turkey does not vaccinate children below 12 years old.
He remarked that the 53 percent ratio only protects the individuals, and it does not contribute to the achievement of herd immunity.
"Furthermore, as the time delays, the effectiveness of the vaccines decreases. Therefore, health authorities should speed up the vaccination campaign as much as possible," Ceyhan said.
So far, more than 108 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country as part of the vaccination drive launched in January. Enditem
