COVID-19: Turkey evacuates expats from 107 countries

ANKARA

Turkey has repatriated its nationals from 107 countries so far amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The number of countries in which we have evacuated our citizens has reached 107. This number is increasing day after day," Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran said Wednesday in a live broadcast on the Instagram account of the Ankara-based Turkish Writers’ Union.

Nearly 70,000 Turkish nationals have been repatriated so far, Kiran said.

"We have also enabled over 600 foreign citizens to reach their countries."

Kiran said that right now, Turkish citizens from all over the world including Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil are en route to Turkey.

"More than 200,000 foreigners have left Turkey so far. Around 20,000 of them were able to leave our country with special permits thanks to the support we gave them," he added.

Two-thirds of the world’s countries have asked Turkey for help in the fight against the coronavirus, he said, adding it is a reflection of the country’s strong healthcare system and position in the fight against the pandemic.

As of Wednesday, the country reported a total of 131,744 coronavirus cases, 78,202 of which have fully recovered. The death toll stands at 3,584.

Since first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 187 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas.

More than 3.7 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll surpassing 263,000 and more than 1.2 million recoveries, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.