A pedestrian walks past a giant mural painting dedicated to healthcare workers in the Besiktas district in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 6, 2020. A Turkish street artist, in Turkey's most populous city Istanbul, has dedicated a giant mural painting to healthcare workers who have been fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The artist, known as No More Lies, created his art over a 46-meter-long and 6-meter high wall in the Ortakoy neighborhood in the Besiktas district, local authorities told Xinhua on Thursday. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish street artist, in Turkey's most populous city Istanbul, has dedicated a giant mural painting to healthcare workers who have been fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The artist, known as No More Lies, created his art over a 46-meter-long and 6-meter high wall in the Ortakoy neighborhood in the Besiktas district, local authorities told Xinhua on Thursday.
Collaborating with the Besiktas municipality, the artist depicted the coronavirus as being defeated by the hard works of the doctors, who were seen standing gloriously right at the center of the wall with their protective suits, masks, and goggles.
"We wanted to praise our healthcare professionals with an art piece and honor the memory of the ones we have lost in this difficult struggle," Riza Akpolat, mayor of the Besiktas municipality, said at a press release.
The municipality has so far reserved two dormitories with a total of 185-bed capacity for healthcare professionals who shun from going home over fears of bringing the virus to their loved ones, the mayor also noted, adding that all kinds of support will be continuously offered to them.
The country's confirmed 1,178 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the number of total infections to 236,112, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced.
The total death toll, meanwhile, reached 5,784. Enditem