All 132 passengers and crew of an aircraft from Tehran have been placed under a two-week quarantine in Ankara over suspicions of coronavirus infection, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Tuesday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) All 132 passengers and crew of an aircraft from Tehran have been placed under a two-week quarantine in Ankara over suspicions of coronavirus infection, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Turkish media reported that the Istanbul-bound Turkish Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Ankara after one passenger�was thought to have contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was also reported that 17 passengers had a high fever.
"A special flight was organized for Turkish citizens who wished to return from Iran to their homeland. Citizens returning to Turkey will be quarantined for 14 days. As part of these efforts, Turkish Airlines TK879 flight from Tehran was scheduled to land in Ankara. All 132 passengers and crew were sent to a special clinic," Koca said on Twitter.
To date, Iran has confirmed 60 cases of COVID-19, including 12 fatalities. The Turkish authorities have already closed the border with Iran, and national airlines are only allowed to evacuate Turkish citizens from Iran.
As of Tuesday, the COVID-19 outbreak has already left over 80,000 people infected worldwide, with the death toll exceeding 2,700. Recovery rates are, however, on the rise, as over 27,800 patients have been discharged from hospitals around the globe.
