ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we first discuss the trends in COVID-19-related outcomes such as number of cases and fatalities between March and June 2020 in Turkey. We offer some explanatory factors for the relatively low number of deaths. Next, we provide an overview of policy responses to COVID-19, identify points of breakdown in interorganizational collaboration, and consider implementation failures emanating from poor policy design. In the second section, we review the communication strategies of the Ministry of Health using social media data. In the final section, we use results from a survey study that was fielded in April in Istanbul and consider individual compliance with government-imposed COVID-19 measures as a form of collective action problem. The final analysis will highlight the role of individual cognition of risk and positive evaluation of policy responses in individual compliance with COVID-19-related measures.
