The preliminary analysis of lab tests taken from passengers of the plane that made an emergency landing in Ankara after departing from Tehran did not reveal the presence of the coronavirus in any of them, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Tuesday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) The preliminary analysis of lab tests taken from passengers of the plane that made an emergency landing in Ankara after departing from Tehran did not reveal the presence of the coronavirus in any of them, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Turkish media reported that an 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. All of the plane's passengers were subsequently placed under a two-week quarantine in Ankara.
"No one has a high fever among the 140 people on board the plane. Two of them have sore throats, four others have a slight cough. The preliminary analysis of lab tests showed that there is no infection in anyone," Koca told reporters.
Earlier on Tuesday, spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry, Kianush Jahanpur, said that the total number of people infected with COVID-19 across Iran had risen to 95, up 34 cases from the previous day, and that 15 of them had died. At the same time, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran was close to taking control over the COVID-19 epidemic, while "enemies" of Iran were trying to instill fear in society.
To date, the COVID-19 outbreak has already infected over 80,000 people worldwide, with the death toll of more than 2,700. Recovery rates are on the rise, however, with over 27,000 patients now having been discharged from hospitals around the globe.
