The statement said: "We are now at risk of adding more unemployed people to the 8 million already unemployed.

Parliaments all over the world are working out emergency responses and measures to face the coronavirus crisis. In Turkey, as usual, a dysfunctional parliament is doing nothing. The proposals submitted to the Assembly to address the coronavirus crisis are rejected by the AKP-MHP.

The AKP government has not given up discrimination. It has not even summoned the Turkish Medical Association and labor organizations such as DISK and KESK. The reason for this discriminatory practice was clear at the end of the meeting: the announced government measures focus on protecting the interests of capital rather than public health."

 

The HDP statement put forward a series of questions:

 

"How many people have been tested so far? How many people have been treated and discharged? How many people are under quarantine? What is the main strategy for preventing the spread of the virus? How will 8 million unemployed people live? How will the health of those who have to work because they do not have the right to paid leave be protected? With which additional measures will the safety of health workers who fight the virus be protected? How will the health of all prisoners, especially the seriously ill prisoners, the elderly and female prisoners with children, be protected in prisons? How to deal with violence against women which has already increased because of the self-isolation?"

 

The HDP added that "according to our party' sources, the number of people who have contracted the virus is already in the order of thousands, not hundreds. This number will increase rapidly and it is clear that hospitals and intensive care units are not going to be able to cope with such an emergency."

 

Among the urgent measures to be taken the HDP underlined the need of "tests to be carried out in every neighborhood, and in every home, not in a few points in the cities. 

Health workers, who have been dismissed by Decree Law, must be reinstated and should return to their posts and assigned to work in the closest health units. The Ministry of Health should make arrangements to protect the health of health workers.

 

Private and public hospitals should be run by the State and used to combat the epidemic until the virus threat passes. All state hospitals that have been closed must be reopened urgently. All city [private] hospitals should be nationalised as soon as possible.

All factories, production facilities and retail units need to be closed for a time, except for those producing food, healthcare, medicine, cleaning materials, energy and communication sectors, which are responding to the basic needs of all citizens. This is essential for the outbreak not to spread. Workers in all sectors that interrupt work should be on paid leave."

 

Furthermore, the HDP suggested that "homeless citizens undergo a comprehensive health screening and be placed in dormitories, nursing homes, guesthouses and vacant homes. Empty houses must be evaluated in a planned manner for this period.

 

Refugee camps should provide full-fledged healthcare and camp conditions should be improved against the threat of epidemics. Everyone living in the camps should be tested and refugees who are not registered should receive health services.

 

Multilingual public spots, in Kurdish and other languages ​​besides Turkish, should be prepared and broadcast daily on state and private television / radio channels."