Turkish CB donates $15M to National Solidarity Campaign

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s central bank on Thursday announced a donation of 100 million Turkish liras ($15 million) for the country's National Solidarity Campaign to aid fight the novel coronavirus.

The campaign was launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday by donating his seven-month salaries.

The bank announced its donation through its official Twitter account.

Ministers, deputies, governors, sports clubs, enterprises, holdings, business people, financial institutions and individuals support the campaign.

On Wednesday, Fahrettin Altun, the country's communications director, said the campaign so far received 552.5 million Turkish liras ($82.5 million).

The virus has infected 15,679 people in Turkey and caused 277 deaths so far.

After surfacing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 180 countries and regions.

The global death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 49,100, with nearly 963,000 cases confirmed worldwide, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Around 203,000 have so far recovered from the infection.