Ruling AKP MP Şanverdi tests positive for COVID-19

* Photo and news: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Hatay MP Hüseyin Şanverdi has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Releasing a statement on his social media account today (July 29), AKP MP Şanverdi has said, "As I felt a bit weak, I applied to a hospital. While our doctor said that the malaise might have been caused by a common cold, he still did a COVID-19 PCR test as a precation."

Accordingly, Şanverdi has announced that his test has turned out to be positive, adding that he is now isolated and treated at Hatay State Hospital with the necessary measures taken by the health personnel.

"Thank God, I do not feel the severe symptoms of the virus that will negatively affect my health," Şanverdi has indicated further.

'Everyone accepted into Hagia Sophia tested negative'

* Photo: Twitter account of Hüseyin Şanverdi (on the far right, outside Hagia Sophia)

Hüseyin Şanverdi was among the people who attended the reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque on July 24. He attended the Friday prayers held in Hagia Sophia with the participation of senior state officials, including President and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, inside Hagia Sophia. There were also thousands of people on the streets.

In his statement, Şanverdi has denied the allegations that the rules to wear protective face masks and keep social distance were not followed during Friday prayers in Hagia Sophia. "Everyone accepted into the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque tested negative for COVID-19. Implementation of measures was at the highest level," Şanverdi has indicated in his statement.

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(SD)