Illness Emerges on a Friday Evening On October 9, 2026, residents of Tokat began to feel unwell after the evening hours. Reports of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea started to surface, prompting people to seek help at local health facilities. The increase in complaints led officials to take preventive measures such as school closures and warnings about tap water.
Case Numbers Climb Rapidly By the following Sunday, October 11, health officials had recorded 2,914 hospital visits linked to the outbreak. Authorities noted that the total number of people seeking medical care since the onset was approaching 3,000.
Youngest Patients Remain Under Care Among those receiving treatment, eighteen children were still in hospital care as of the latest update.
The warning remains in effect until the investigation results are announced.
Official Warning on Tap Water In response to the growing concern, the governor’s office issued a clear directive: residents should not drink tap water or use it for cooking until the results of the ongoing investigation are announced. The warning remains in effect until the investigation results are announced.
Special Leave for Vulnerable Employees To protect those at heightened risk, the administration announced that disabled and pregnant public employees would be granted administrative leave on Monday. The decision was made to protect disabled and pregnant public employees.
Schools Close for One‑Day Disinfection On October 12, Tokat’s schools were shut down for a single day so that thorough disinfection could be carried out. The decision was announced by the Tokat Valiliği, who explained that the closure followed the wave of health complaints beginning on Friday evening. The Tokat Valiliği stated: "İlimiz merkezinde, 9 Ekim Cuma günü akşam saatlerinden itibaren bulantı, kusma, karın ağrısı ve ishal şikayetleriyle sağlık kuruluşlarına başvuruların yapılması üzerine, okullarımızda detaylı dezenfeksiyon çalışmaları gerçekleştirilmesine karar verilmiştir."