Nine lawmakers have COVID-19, says parliament speaker

ANKARA

Some 44 personnel and lawmakers have tested positive for COVID-19 to date, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop has said.

“Five lawmakers are in hospital while another four MPs are being treated at their homes for the coronavirus,” Şentop told reporters in Ankara.

Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been taken off from the ventilator, he added. Akbaşoğlu had been admitted to intensive care unit in late July as his condition deteriorated.

The parliament speaker, however, did not disclose the names of all the infected lawmakers.

Şentop also noted that 35 personnel working in parliament were carrying the virus.

“Two of the 35 staffer are in hospital, while 32 others are at home. One personnel tested positive on Aug. 5,” Şentop said.

Legislative work in the Turkish Parliament was suspended in late June for a couple of days after an increase in coronavirus cases on its premises.

Turkey recently has seen a surge in the number of new infections. New COVID-19 cases this week jumped above 1,000 for the first time in three weeks, prompting Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and other government officials to renew calls for people to strictly adhere to the hygiene, social distancing and face mask rules.