Turks evacuated amid coronavirus to be quarantined for two weeks

ANKARA

(AFP Photo)

Turkish citizens returning from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city of China will be placed in quarantine for a total of 14 days, according to the country’s health minister.

Speaking at a news conference after a scientific committee meeting on the mystery virus, Fahrettin Koca said Turkish citizens who are set to travel from Wuhan will be quarantined for 14 days for precautionary measures.

The Turkish cargo plane will carry 34 Turkish, seven Azerbaijani, seven Georgian and one Albanian citizen from Wuhan, Koca conveyed.

The plane is expected to take off from Ankara to Wuhan in a few hours, he added.

“There are [Turkish] citizens who reside in Wuhan and have absolutely no suspicion of infection. We cannot leave our completely healthy citizens and put them at risk,” Koca said.

The minister also underlined 21 infection specialists will also travel to China with the cargo plane that will take the citizens back to Turkey.

“Our team will perform the necessary examinations for every passenger. We are taking them with special isolation,” he said.

Members of the medical team will also be quarantined for 14 days along with the citizens, Koca added.

The ministry will utilize an unused hospital for the citizens arriving from Wuhan, in a bid to prevent any contact with other citizens in actively used hospitals.

No coronavirus case detected in Turkey

Koca also stressed that 68 people from all over Turkey have been examined thoroughly and there is currently no “absolute coronavirus” diagnosis.

“Even if there is [a diagnosis], I want to underline that all of our preparations have been completed,” he said.

In the southern Adana province, two suspected coronavirus cases were under meticulous observation and the results of tests showed no positive detection of the infection, the minister conveyed.

“We had 70 cases under observation but no positive [test results],” he said.

When asked if the measures Turkey took against the coronavirus are adequate, Koca said the country started to take the precautions the World Health Organization (WHO) urged 20 days before its suggestion.

Koca also stated that a patient has been taken under observation and tests have been conducted. The results will be available in at most 10 hours, he said, adding that the doctors think it is a seasonal flu, not the mystery virus.