It has been five months since the first cases with atypical pneumonia were reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019. During this period, one of the most severe pandemics of the last century was announced by the World Health Organization due to Covid-19 disease.

In the first half of the year, despite the confusing state among healthcare professionals and academics due to the Covid-19 disease, interest in publishing original articles, case reports, or review articles has never declined. The number of submissions to the GMJ showed an increase during the days we have been fighting with the pandemic. Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to all the contributing authors, reviewers, and editors in this context.

With the growing number of submissions in the last two years, we were in need of expanding our editorial board. I am honored to welcome Prof.Dr. Ahmet Coşar, Prof.Dr. Mesut Gürdal, Associate Prof. Ömer Karadaş, and Assistant Prof. Bilgin Bahadır Başgöz to the editorial board in the new term. Their contribution will undoubtedly enhance our manuscript evaluation process and the quality of published articles.

In the second half of the year, we will continue as a whole with our fight against not only the Covid-19 disease but also the challenges of new normal life in our hospitals and medical schools. As the journal’s publishing team, we will also continue to work hard to provide the readers with high-quality papers, and the authors with the most efficient evaluation process, thanks to our most experienced reviewers.

Prof. Dr. Omer Azal
Editor-in-Chief