Double Disaster: Pandemic and Earthquake

Abstract

Dear Editor, Described as the biggest global disaster after the Second World War, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis not only in the health system but also in socioeconomic areas(1). Most governments have implemented several measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to furtherstrengthen the capacity of the healthcare systems, while carrying out treatment and vaccine development effortsto combat the pandemic. Maintaining social distance, closing places of public gathering, restricting collective activ ities, implementing curfews, and establishing special COVID-19 care areas in healthcare institutions have provento be effective for slowing down the spread of the virus. However, the occurrence of an earthquake in an outbreakenvironment, as we encountered in Izmir, may create hurdles in the effective implementation of such measuresand thus lead to an increase in the spread of the virus (2).