Coronavirus in Turkey: Erdogan makes radical decision - number of infected people increases

The first person infected with Corona was officially confirmed in Turkey on Wednesday - now Turkish President Erdogan is taking steps.

• The Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus continues to spread worldwide.
• The number of infected people is increasing in Turkey.
• Because of the proximity to Iran , critics ask important questions.

Coronavirus in Turkey - 10,000 quarantined pilgrims

Update of March 14, 5.43 p.m .: Six infections with the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 have been reported so far in Turkey . A returned pilgrim was tested positive on Saturday. To further prevent the spread of the corona virus, Turkey has around

10,000 pilgrims quarantined, reports the dpa news agency.

Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca had previously announced on Twitter that people who had returned from the small Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (Umrah) were quarantined. However, Koca did not give a number. Those affected are accommodated in student dormitories in the capital, Ankara.

CNN Türk showed numerous buses with pilgrims arriving at the dormitories. Drivers and passengers alike wore protective masks.

UMREDEN thin cedar itibaren düm tüm yolcular, Ankara ve Konya'daki ÖĞRENCİ YURTLARINDA KARANTİNA MANTIĞIYLA ayrı odalara yerleştirilmektedir. Şüpheli bulunanlar gelir gelmez hastaneye kaldırılıp, testleri yapılmaktadır. Tedbirlerde hep birlikte tavizsiz olalım!

Coronavirus in Turkey: Entry freeze from Germany

Update from March 14, 11:27 am: There is still no form of therapy for the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. And the virus is spreading rapidly. Among other things, Germany is severely affected with 3,675 cases. Some countries have already imposed entry restrictions on visitors from Germany. Turkey will also close its borders on Saturday. People from nine countries are no longer allowed to enter easily.

Germany is also on the list of countries that Turkey has declared a risk case. Also: France, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. Even those who have been in these countries in the past 14 days are no longer allowed to enter, the Turkish Ministry of the Interior said. Even Turkish citizens are not allowed to "temporarily" travel to the countries mentioned as part of this radical containment strategy. Air traffic to the affected countries has already been discontinued and is scheduled to be suspended until April 17. Ankara had previously stopped flights to China, Iran, Iraq, Italy and South Korea. The number of officially confirmed cases of infection in Turkey had risen to five on Friday.

Coronavirus in Turkey: Erdogan with serious steps - effects on refugee crisis

Update of March 14, 9:13 a.m .: Because of the coronavirus pandemic , discussions between Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the refugee crisis do not appear to be in a planned form. Instead of a meeting on Tuesday in Istanbul, a conference call is now planned, the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Friday.

Erdogan declared his country's borders to the EU open at the end of February. As a result, there was a strong influx of refugees on the Turkish-Greek border. Greek authorities kept the borders closed and partially pushed back refugees using tear gas.

Update of March 14, 6:57 p.m .: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided to take far-reaching preventive measures for his country because of the corona virus : From Monday, the schools will be closed for a week, after which distance learning will be held for a week, his spokesman said State news agency Anadolu with.

In addition, university vacations are scheduled for three weeks, sporting events are to take place without spectators by the end of April and officials are only allowed to travel abroad with a special permit. Erdogan's planned trips abroad are to be postponed. Turkey had reported the first coronavirus case on March 11th .

Corona virus: first case in Turkey confirmed - but guesswork remains

First report from March 12 : Istanbul - The corona virus * has now also reached Turkey at the latest. The country, which it claims has been spared the virus for a long time, has now confirmed the first infected. Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca spoke to the press on Wednesday saying that a sick person had recently flown back to the country from a trip to Europe and was there.

Koca did not want to provide any further details to protect the patient's privacy. Deutsche Welle reports. The minister is said to have tried not to cause fear among the population. The infected person is only an isolated case and there is no danger to society.

Coronavirus: Iran neighboring Turkey with over 10,000 patients severely affected

Parts of the population and especially the critics of the regime ask themselves some questions. So far, Turkey has stated that there are no infected people in the country, but the border with Iran raises questions. After all, there are over 10,000 patients in the badly affected neighboring country.

“The laboratories say that the test procedure works perfectly. But it is surprising that Turkey is among the 80 countries spared by the virus - even though Turkey borders Iran, ”said Özlem Azap , a member of the Turkish Ministry of Health's scientific committee told DW . "Before the borders were closed, many people came to Turkey from our neighboring country." The doctor wonders whether these people had no signs of lung disease at all.

Coronavirus: Turkey has only carried out 2,000 tests

According to official information, only about 2,000 corona tests have been carried out in Turkey. "The fact that so far only one case of infection is known also has to do with the fact that many patients with mild symptoms did not report to the hospitals," Azap continued.

Protective measures * and preparations for a more significant outbreak are also considered to be too low. The authorities would say that they had prepared well, but according to the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) there would be a lack of protective masks in health centers and university hospitals. Test kits would be made at only three locations.

It remains to be seen how Turkey will deal with the virus and whether the country will continue to be "spared" by Covid-19 . In any case, doctors and critics raise the alarm - and doubt the government's statements. Meanwhile, there is the fourth death in Germany and the first in Poland and Mallorca. The situation is most dramatic in Italy - the country is completely paralyzed. A clairvoyant is said to have hinted at the Corona crisis in the past century.

* tz.de and Merkur.de are part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

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