Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca warned on Monday there could be people already infected by the deadly coronavirus in the country even though there have been no positive cases diagnosed as yet.
“This [having no confirmed cases of the virus] does not mean that we will not have to face it today or tomorrow. For today, there might be people who have already been infected by the virus. Therefore, we might confront with it [the epidemic] within the next couple of days,” the minister said.
Speaking to reporters following a meeting with the Coronavirus Science Committee, the minister announced a new precautionary decision.
According to the decision, Turkish citizens who visited five countries – China, Iran, Iraq, Italy, and South Korea in the last 14 days might be required to have a medical report and stay away from work.
The new decision aims at keeping potentially infected people away from the community during the incubation period of the virus.
Koca said a total of 1,162 tests to detect the virus have so far been carried out in Turkey. He said none of them were positive.
As part of a precaution against the coronavirus epidemic, the minister said Turkey had also suspended all flights to and from Iraq, Italy, and South Korea as of Saturday. This is in addition to flights from China and Iran.
As in the case with Iran, Turkey has sealed its land border with neighboring Iraq, halting land crossings between the two countries.
Late on Monday, the minister also posted a Twitter message through his account, saying: “Although the Katie bar the door [on the borders], we have hit the jackpot [succeeded in being protected] so far.”
Iran, one of the five countries for which Turkey has taken precautions, has reported 978 confirmed cases of the new virus, with 54 having died from the illness it causes, including an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Expediency Council member Mohammad Mirmohammadi (71) died of the virus at a Tehran hospital, state media said on Monday.
Other seniors of the Iranian regime have also been reported to have contracted the virus. They include Iraj Harirchi, the head of the Iranian task force on the coronavirus, who tried to downplay the virus before falling ill.
Specialists have raised concerns about the percentage of deaths to infections in the country, around 5.5%, which is much higher than in other countries. This has raised fears of a higher number of infections.
Iran has the second-highest death toll after China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
South Korea, another country most affected by the virus, announced that the death toll had reached 28, with three more deaths reported on Tuesday morning.
The country has newly confirmed 600 cases, which have raised the national tally to 4,812 cases.
The new virus is believed to have originated from illegal wildlife sold in China’s Wuhan province in December.
The outbreak has globally infected more than 90,000 people and killed 3,110 so far, according to the latest figures by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has urged countries to step up containment measures to rein in the infection.
Turkish authorities put 16 under quarantine on suspicion of coronavirus
The post Turkish Health Minister warns there may be coronavirus-infected people appeared first on IPA NEWS.
from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2020/03/03/turkish-health-minister-warns-there-may-be-coronavirus-infected-people/
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