Turkey has announced its first confirmed case of Covid-19, ending weeks of speculation over whether the tourism and travel hub with a large refugee population would be able to avoid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The patient was a Turkish national who had recently returned from Europe, the health minister Fahrettin Koca said early on Wednesday. The man, his family and others who had come into contact with him were currently in quarantine, Koca said. The health minister did not provide any more details, citing the patient’s right to privacy.
“An early diagnosis was made. If there is an infection in the country, it is very limited,” the state-run Anadolu agency quoted Koca as saying. “The coronavirus is not stronger than the measures we will take.”
Hospitals in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, have been set up to test and quarantine patients suspected of having the virus.
Turkish citizens should avoid travelling abroad if possible, Koca added. All planned holidays by healthcare professionals have been cancelled as a precaution.
A German tourist visiting the breakaway state of northern Cyprus only recognised by Turkey, was also diagnosed with Covid-19 on Tuesday. Two more cases were confirmed on the Greek side of the island.
Turkey, a tourist hub linking Europe and western Asia, had around 50 million visitors last year. It is also host to the largest refugee population in the world, mostly Syrians displaced by the neighbouring civil war.
Turkey took preemptive measures to halt the spread of the virus, including shutting its border with Iran, one of the worst affected countries, and cancelling flights to several destinations with high rates of infection.
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
- Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
- Avoid direct, unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces in contact with animals when visiting live markets in affected areas
- Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and exercise care when handling raw meat, milk or animal organs to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.
Despite a surge in sales of face masks in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, experts are divided over whether they can prevent transmission and infection. There is some evidence to suggest that masks can help prevent hand-to-mouth transmissions, given the large number of times people touch their faces. The consensus appears to be that wearing a mask can limit – but not eliminate – the risks, provided it is used correctly.
Reports in pro-government media to date praising the state’s preparedness have been met with some scepticism. Speculation has been rife for weeks that the Turkish authorities, desperate to keep the country’s fragile economic recovery on track, may have sought to suppress information about any outbreak within its borders.
Turkey is struggling with high unemployment, inflation and the threat of recession following a currency crash in 2018, as well as new investor fears about the country’s growing military involvement in Syria’s Idlib province in the last few weeks. The decision to close border crossings with Iran will also have affected trade and tourism.
The lira weakened against the dollar on Wednesday after the coronavirus news was announced.
The Red Cross, Red Crescent and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have said Covid-19 could have catastrophic effects if it reaches vulnerable undocumented and refugee populations in the Middle East, including Turkey.
At least 13,000 refugees and migrants have gathered in areas near Turkey’s EU border after Ankara said on 28 February it would no longer impede their passage to Europe. The move, widely viewed as an effort to blackmail Turkey’s European allies into support for its Idlib operation, has been criticised for putting lives at risk. At least three people have died, one Syrian baby who drowned and two men who were allegedly shot with rubber bullets by Greek police.
Ankara has accused Athens of using deadly force to repel people trying to cross into Greek territory, while Turkey has deployed an extra 1,000 police officers to prevent people trying to re-enter Turkey.
As a result, thousands of people are currently camped out in cold and unhygienic conditions in the no-man’s land between the two countries and near the Meriç River.
A festival in Edirne, the closest town to the Greek border, was cancelled on Tuesday as a precaution against the coronavirus.
