Turkey's Erdogan Donates 7 Months Worth of Salary to COVID-19 Fund

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2020) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday that he would donate his salary for seven months to a fund for tackling the COVID-19 outbreak.

There are currently 10,827 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey with 168 fatalities, as announced earlier in the day by the Turkish Health Ministry. The past 24 hours saw a surge of over 1,600 new cases and 37 coronavirus-related deaths in Turkey.

"We are starting a campaign of national solidarity for the fight against the coronavirus. A fund has been created to that end. I donate my seven-month salary to it. Our ministers have also pledged to provide support. I invite everyone to take part in this campaign, and I expect special support from businessmen," Erdogan said in a nationwide address after a virtual government meeting.

Erdogan said Turkey was opening new medical facilities and enlarging the existing ones to tackle the infection. Additionally, the production of essential goods was tripled to prevent deficit, he said. According to the Turkish president, the country can cope with the outbreak if people continue to adhere to social distancing.

He further warned about possible restrictions that can be imposed on transportation between cities after they were introduced for inter-city travels. Turkey has quarantined 41 of its settlements as of Monday.

The Turkish leader said that the country had also sent medical supplies in assistance to other countries, including Italy.