Health Minister: Turkey Tested 1,363 People for Coronavirus, All were Negative

Source and photo: AA

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Turkey has tested 1,363 people for coronavirus so far and is yet to find a positive case, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said today (March 5).

A passenger from France tested positive for coronavirus on a Turkish Airlines flight from London to Singapore, he also informed. The flight returned empty from Singapore and the crew will be quarantined for 14 days, he added.

The coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to more than 80 countries including four of Turkey's eight neighbors.

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It has infected more than 95,000 people and claimed over 32,00 lives globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of their efforts to contain the outbreak, many governments closed their borders and suspended land and air services with the worst-affected countries such as South Korea, Italy and China.

The WHO, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, last week upgraded the global risk level to very high.

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Information will be shared via Skype

Koca yesterday announced Turkey would begin sharing information on how to deal with the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak with nine countries including Iran via online communication applications Skype and Zoom.

A total of 92 people have died from the virus in Iran, with 2,922 infections, according to the country's health ministry.

The country of origin of the infection, China reported almost 3,000 deaths, according to the country's National Health Commission.

The global death toll from the virus is over three thousand, with more than 89 thousand infected.

The World Health Organization, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, updated the global risk level to "very high. (DB/AÖ/VK)