Turkey to Open Airport COVID-19 Testing Centers by Mid-July - Minister

ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2020) Turkish authorities will open testing centers for the novel coronavirus in the country's busiest airports by July 1, while by July 15 such centers will become operational in other airports across the country, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told Anadolu news agency.

Ersoy previously announced plans of the authorities to conduct tests for COVID-19 in airports and border crossing checkpoints for all arrivals.

"By July 1, 2020, COVİD-19 test centers will be opened in all major airports in Turkey, and in the remaining airports such centers will open by July 15," Nuri Ersoy said.

According to the minister, over 727 hotels and about 900 restaurants have applied for a "Safe Tourism Certification" that would indicate they had taken standard measures to prevent the spread of the infection.

He called Turkey one of the safest countries in Europe in terms of the risk of coronavirus infection and expressed regret that partners abroad were delaying the lifting of restrictions on travel to Turkey.

As of Tuesday, Turkey recorded a total of 188,897 cases of the coronavirus infection, while the death toll reached nearly 5,000.