Turkey in Between European Union Countries in the New Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak; An Examination of the Doubling Times

Objective: In December 2019, the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which is identified as a new pneumonia factor, emerged in Wuhan, China's Hubei province. The new coronavirus is rapidly spreading all over the world and considered a pandemic. The first case in Turkey was confirmed on March 10, 2020, and on March 18, 2020, Turkey has reached the 100th case. Material and Methods: In this study, the doubling times of the outbreak in the European Union countries, especially Turkey, were investigated. Moreover, in this context, as South Korea has been extensively testing both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and implementing effective strategies, the doubling times have increased steadily linearly without any decline. Therefore, the doubling times for European countries have been compared to South Korea. Results: The highest slope in doubling times was achieved in South Korea and Austria. Among the compared countries, Italy, despite its 51st day after its 100th case, has not yet experienced a rapid rise. In Turkey, the doubling time after the 100th case was calculated to be 1.04. Initially, Turkey was ranked as the country with the lowest doubling times between European Union countries, however, at the point reached today (the 34th day after than the 100th case); after Spain, Austria, Switzerland, and South Korea, Turkey ranks fourth by a doubling time of 13.14. Conclusion: Turkey on the 34th day after the 100th case of the outbreak, has made further successful progress more than major European countries. The prolongation of the doubling time in this wise is promising to combat the pandemic successfully