Turkey to export coronavirus diagnostic kit

ANKARA

İHA Photo

A diagnostic kit developed by Turkey to identify coronavirus cases will be sold abroad, Turkey's health minister said on Feb. 12.

"It is also planned as a commercial kit and will be sold abroad," Fahrettin Koca told reporters in parliament, underlining that the team who developed the kit had focused on cutting down the time needed for diagnosis.

"The goal was to reduce the time between 60-75 minutes. It would probably be 75 minutes," he said.

Koca also stressed that the diagnosis time for the previous kit had been between 90 to 120 minutes. The diagnosis kits in Germany, France and the U.K. did not yield results before three hours, he added.

No cases in Turkey

"No coronavirus patient has been confirmed in the country [Turkey] so far and the risk is lower now," he said, adding that all possible precautions had been taken to prevent the disease from entering the country.

He cited Turkey's use of thermal cameras at its airports and its quarantine system it instituted before the World Health Organization's proposal, as well as its prevention of the entry of live animals and similar products from abroad.

Turkish Cargo airlifts medical aid to Guangzhou

In the meantime, Turkish Cargo on Feb. 13 airlifted humanitarian and medical aid to the southern city of Guangzhou in China.

At least 1,114 people have lost their lives in Guangzhou, according to figures by the National Health Commission.

The aids include medical supplies such as medicine, medical mask, disposable gloves, and disinfection bottles, according to a statement by Turkish Airlines.