Istanbul (AFP)

Equipped with a gown, protective glasses and a mask, the two doctors climb the steps four by four. Their first mission of the day: to test a woman who had contact with a patient suffering from the coronavirus in Istanbul.

Visibly intimidated by the appearance of these two men looking like cosmonauts on her landing, this resident of the popular district of Fatih answers their questions before submitting to screening, the result of which will be known the next day.

In Turkey, nearly 6,000 teams of "tracers" - all health professionals - track 24 hours a day potential cases of new coronavirus by identifying and following people who have had contact with patients.

By helping to quickly identify new cases to isolate and treat them at an early stage, tracing has helped, according to the Turkish government, to contain the epidemic and to limit the number of deaths.

Even if observers question the reliability of the official figures, the number of deaths compared to that of infected people seems remarkably low: 3,689 deaths for 135,569 cases, according to the last assessment published Friday.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Monday that tracing was "at the heart of Turkey's success" against the pandemic.

According to him, each tracing process makes it possible to identify an average of 4.5 people potentially contaminated because they have been in contact with a patient.

On April 29, he said more than 460,000 people had been contacted by the tracers in Turkey.

- "Detective work" -

Doctors do "real detective work" to spot potential cases, said Melek Nur Aslan, director of the state health agency for Fatih district.

When a patient is identified, "we try to trace his journey from 48 hours before the appearance of the first symptoms until the moment when he tested positive" for the virus, she explains to AFP.

For this, the doctors go to the patient with a list of questions: where did he go? Who did he speak with? Was he wearing a mask?

They thus obtain a list of potentially contaminated people whom they contact to ask them to remain confined for 14 days.

If the person has symptoms or develops symptoms during confinement, then they do a screening test.

It is precisely on such a case that the two doctors at Fatih have just intervened: the woman they saw is tired and has migraines.

Once out of the building, they remove their protective equipment which they throw in a large garbage bag.

One of them carries a large box containing the sample that will be sent to the laboratory during the day.

If the test is positive, this woman "will appear as a confirmed case in our file, which will cause a new tracing process," said one of the tracers, Mustafa Sever, a general practitioner.

- "To reassure" -

Their role will also be crucial to avoid the appearance of a second wave at a time when Turkey is preparing to loosen restrictive measures, with for example the reopening of shopping centers and hairdressers from Monday.

Unlike other countries where tracking raises debates on the confidentiality and use of the data collected, Turkey applied this measure from the start of the pandemic.

Ms. Aslan says that only caregivers responsible for tracking potential cases of coronavirus have access to the data collected, via an application dedicated to them.

While the current tracing operation is gigantic due to the scale of the pandemic, this system is not new in Turkey.

Doctor Sever explains that he has already carried out similar "investigations" during epidemics of measles in Istanbul.

In Istanbul alone, 1,200 teams of two to four tracers are constantly tracking potential new cases of coronavirus, according to Aslan.

In addition to tracking down the virus, these tracers also have the role of teaching and appeasing the people they will see.

"When we move around in people's homes, they see that someone is taking care of them, that they are not neglected," explains Doctor Sever.

And to add: "If they are worried, we discuss a little with them to reassure them".

© 2020 AFP