Turkey evacuates nearly 70,000 citizens amid COVID-19

ANKARA 

Turkey has so far brought back nearly 70,000 of its nationals from 114 countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, the country's foreign minister said on Friday.

"We brought nearly 70,000 citizens from 114 countries to our country [due to COVID-19] and placed them under 14-day quarantine," Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a live broadcast on A News channel.

Underlining that a total of 135 countries have asked Turkey to supply medical equipment, he said the country has sent medical aid to 80 of them.

As of Friday, the country reported 146,457 coronavirus cases, including 106,133 recoveries. The death toll stands at 4,055.

Since first appearing China last December, the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease has spread to at least 188 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas.

The pandemic has killed nearly 305,400 worldwide, with over 4.5 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.61 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan and Gozde Bayar