ANKARA
With 750 suspected cases of coronavirus in Iran and 18 confirmed, along with five deaths, Turkey is subjecting all arrivals from Iran to medical checks, and barring people with symptoms from entering the country, said the country's top health official on Friday.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Turkey is offering a helping hand to virus-stricken China by sending a cargo plane “loaded with a huge shipment of medical aid items and equipment.”
Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca
Earlier this month, Turkey sent an A400M-type military cargo planet to Wuhan – the epicenter of the virus – and evacuated a total of 42 people, including 32 Turkish nationals, six Azerbaijanis, three Georgians, and an Albanian.
During the evacuation operation, Turkish health authorities also delivered nearly 100,000 health masks and over 2,000 protective suits.
On Friday, Chinese authorities announced that the death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak reached 2,238.
The country's National Health Commission said there are 75,465 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19.
More than 18,260 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the illness.
Coronavirus has spread to more than 25 other countries including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international health emergency.
There is no known case of coronavirus in Turkey.
