ISTANBUL – They see themselves as public health detectives, working 24/7 to track the coronavirus' insidious spread through a country of 83 million, blending door-to-door hoof work with mobile apps, CCTV footage and, if needed, police backup.
Instead of global coronavirus testing, Turkey has based its pandemic response on partial lockdowns and work by armies of contact tracers, who identify people possibly infected by a COVID-19 patient and seek to stamp out the fire before it consumes a neighborhood, town or region.
Officials from both the Turkish government and the local World Health Organization say the tactic has paid off. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says it's brought the pandemic “under control,” with virus deaths and confirmed