Details sparse as first coronavirus case reported in Turkey
Health officials announced Turkey's first confirmed coronavirus case late Tuesday but shared no details, leading disease specialists to urge more screening and greater transparency.
ISTANBUL — Turkish health officials announced the first recorded case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Turkey during a late night press briefing Tuesday. Speaking in Ankara, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said a male patient tested positive for the virus after traveling to Europe and that people with whom he came in contact had been placed in quarantine.
“The coronavirus is not stronger than the measures we will take,” Koca said in effort to reassure the public. “A quarantined patient cannot threaten society.”
Citing patient privacy policies, Koca did not share the patient’s whereabouts or further details about the case. Up until the announcement, Turkey had remained free of confirmed cases as the disease spread in neighboring states.
According to the World Health Organization, five other countries reported their first cases of COVID-19 in the last 36 hours, including Brunei, Mongolia, Cyprus, Guernsey and Panama. At the time of reporting, WHO estimates at least 4,012 deaths have been linked to the disease worldwide, with 113,702 confirmed cases reported since the first diagnosis in December.
