Page 11 - TURKRptAug20

Top TTB officials have lately described problems in the face of the pandemic in Turkey that particularly refer to Turkey’s southeastern provinces and observed rises in COVID-19 cases.
A COVID-19 patient in the southeastern Diyarbakir province died after an available intensive care bed could not be found either in Diyarbakir city or four surrounding provinces, bianet reported on July 27.
At the end of June, government-run news service Anadolu Agency reported that four Turkish MPs—one from the ruling AKP party and three from the pro-Kurdish HDP—were diagnosed as having COVID-19 infections.
The parliament was closed from June 25 to June 30 after personnel in different departments of the legislature contracted COVID-19. However, it was re-opened on June 30. It has since approved a raft of controversial laws prior to leaving on July 29 for a summer holiday that lasts until October 1.
Notably, the AKP group deputy chairman Muhammet Emin Dundar, the MP in the party who was diagnosed with COVID-19, attended the June 30 gathering at parliament.
On July 29, Huseyin Sanverdi, another AKP MP, wrote on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Sanverdi on July 24 attended the controversial first Friday prayer held at Hagia Sophia since the 1930s following its recent re-conversion into a mosque, bianet reported.
The government, meanwhile, is getting ready to re-open Turkey’s schools on August 31.
2.4​ ​Turkey falls to 91st of 174 countries on Euromoney global risk rankings with balance of payments fears rising
Turkey has fallen to 91st out of 174 countries on Euromoney’s global risk rankings, meaning it has plunged 38 places during the past five years.
“This is widening the gap with India, Russia and Brazil, as well as Tunisia, Vietnam and Morocco, all of which are comparatively safer,” the financial magazine ​wrote​ on June 26, adding that further downgrading is expected.
It referred to the authorities placing bans on stock lending and short selling, reducing foreign investor access to the country’s markets, as “just the latest concerns about Turkey’s political and policymaking environment that have been rumbling on for years”.
“Turkish authorities are also desperate for foreign exchange and may not stop short of introducing more restrictions to stem capital flight,” the publication added.
Tight lockdowns in Turkey during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis have been avoided, but the country’s economy will contract by 4.8% in real terms this year, according to the OECD, or by 8.1% according to the organisation’s double-hit scenario, factoring in a second wave of the pandemic.
Emre Deliveli, an economist at Hurriyet Daily News, was quoted as saying that he saw Turkey’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism falling below $10bn this year, after rising to a record high of $34.5bn in 2019, adding that the risk of a balance of payments crisis in Turkey was rising.
Although the Turkish lira had recently stabilised, and finance minister Berat
11​ TURKEY Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com