Aylin Dal
March 13, 2020•Update: March 13, 2020
ANKARA
Turkey is taking all necessary precautions against the novel coronavirus in line with statements from the Health Ministry, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said Thursday.
Gul said the ministry has prepared an urgent course of action in line with its Science Committee.
The committee is following an urgent plan day by day, he said on Twitter.
"Visits abroad and visits from abroad have all been cancelled unless absolutely necessary until the end of April," he said.
All events and public activities have also been halted until the end of April.
Personnel arriving from abroad are being directed to hospitals and have been granted 14 days’ leave from work from the time of their arrival.
Disinfection is being carried out continuously in all courthouses, ministry buildings and penal institutions. Personnel are also being trained on the proper guidelines for disinfection.
In all closed penal institutions, prisoners and detainees with high fevers or coughs are being sent to hospitals and tested for the coronavirus. Those who test negative are taken back to the prisons.
Until now, no prisoner or detainee has tested positive for the virus.
Prisoners with no signs of illness are still being kept in separate sections when possible.
Visitors who have recently been abroad are not allowed to visit prisoners.
If necessary, all visits will be suspended for a while.
All penal institutions have enough equipment for detecting signs of the virus including thermometers as well as disinfecting products, masks, protective suits and gloves.
Turkey confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus Wednesday, with the health minister urging citizens to avoid international travel unless absolutely necessary.
The coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, China last December and has spread to at least 114 countries.
The global death toll is now over 4,600, with more than 124,500 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has declared the outbreak "a pandemic."
*Writing by Firdevs Bulut
