Turkey informs EU about COVID-19 situation in major holiday destinations: Minister

ISTANBUL

Turkey has been tracking foreign tourists and collecting data on how many visitors had COVID-19, Health Ministry Fahrettin Koca said.

The Health Ministry had data regarding how many virus cases were recorded among foreign nationals who visited Turkey during summer, Koca told daily Hürriyet.

“We are informing the EU on a daily basis about the state of the outbreak, particularly in four provinces, namely Muğla, İzmir, Antalya and Aydın,” the minister added.

Those four provinces are major destinations in Turkey for international holidaymakers.

Koca reiterated that all data he shared with the public regarding the outbreak was accurate.

“I have a responsibility towards society. I insist that the statistics that appear on daily charts are correct,” the minister said.

Koca also noted that the number of COVID-19 infections has spiked across the country, particularly during and after the four-day holiday for Eid al-Adha celebrations that started at the end of July.