Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – A group of Turkish doctors, specialists on COVID-19 arrived in Uzbekistan to provide practical assistance in the fight against the pandemic. Sixteen Turkish medical professionals, from doctors to nurses, joined their Uzbek counterparts in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic last month, Dunyo reported.

Working in hospitals across the country, doctors not only share their experiences with their colleagues, but also help treat patients.

Nine doctors, six nursing assistants and a biomedical engineer were deployed to our country at the height of the global pandemic. Turkish doctors work in a 4,000-bed hospital built for COVID-19 patients in the capital, as well as in medical institutions in Ferghana, Kashkadarya, Andijan, Namangan and Samarkand regions. They regularly hold videoconferences with Uzbek health professionals to share their skills and treatments.

A member of the Turkish delegation, the chief physician of the Teaching and Research Hospital in the Turkish province of Kayseri, Dr. Myckerrem Altuntash, says that in his opinion, Uzbekistan has managed to prepare itself well for protection from the pandemic. According to him, the significant measures taken in the republic arouse great interest among the public in foreign countries. In particular, the Turkish expert notes that from the first days of the spread of COVID-19 in Central Asia, unlike other countries in the region, Uzbekistan took drastic measures to suspend mass cultural events related to Navruz, stopped international transportation, and education in educational institutions in the republic began to conduct remotely. “All this made it possible to control the epidemiological situation in the country,” says Dr. Mückerrem Altuntash. 

The Turkish doctor also notes the low mortality rate from COVID-19 in Uzbekistan compared to other CIS republics. He also noted that in order to combat COVID-19 in the country, funds were allocated in a timely and sufficient manner, new hospitals and laboratories were built, control was introduced for the supply of technical equipment and the arrival of specialists in this field.

“Uzbekistan is an example for many other countries in the region in the fight against this global threat,” the expert concludes.