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HEALTH-VIRUS-TURKEY-SAUDI
Turkey quarantines pilgrims returning from Saudi
ISTANBUL, March 16, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey on Sunday quarantined
thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, officials said, as the
country recorded a dozen more coronavirus cases.
The total number of confirmed incidents in over 80 million strong Turkey
has reached 18, with 12 new cases — two related to the first case, seven
from Europe and three from the United States, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca
announced on Twitter.
“All the passengers returning from pilgrimage as of last night (Saturday)
are being placed into separate rooms for quarantine” in student dorms in the
capital Ankara and nearby Konya provinces, the minister said.
Approximately 10,000 pilgrims returned from Saudi Arabia Saturday night,
youth and sports minister Mehmet Kasapoglu was quoted as saying by the
official Anadolu news agency.
Koca said one of the pilgrims who returned from the umrah — the Islamic
pilgrimage to Mecca — over the last week had tested positive.
“Those found suspicious are hospitalised as soon as they return and
tested,” he said.
Turkish television showed pilgrims in Ankara wearing protective masks
taken in buses to the dormitories.
The umrah, which can be undertaken at any time of year, attracts millions
of Muslims from across the globe annually. It remains unclear however how the
coronavirus will affect the hajj, due to start in late July.
Saudi Arabia has suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage over fears
surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year in Islam’s
holiest cities of Mecca and Medina, has said the move was provisional.
Turkey’s religious affairs authority, Diyanet, said the travels for
pilgrimage have been halted from February 27.
– ‘Strict measures’-
“The number of cases in Turkey has unfortunately risen to 18 today,” said
Fahrettin Altun, the senior press aide of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey had mobilised all resources to confront this “unprecedented
challenge”, he added.
“We are implementing strong monitoring protocols in our land and sea
borders in addition to already strict measures at our airports,” he tweeted.
As part of its bid to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Turkey has
applied travel restrictions on a total of 15 countries including France,
Italy and Germany.
The interior ministry on Sunday said nightclubs, bars and discotheques
would be “temporarily” closed from Monday.
Ankara has already ordered schools to close for two weeks from Monday and
universities to take a three-week holiday, as well as imposing restrictions
on civil servants’ foreign travel.
It has ordered sporting events without spectators until the end of April
while culture and art events have been postponed.
Erdogan, who has suspended foreign travel, will hold a video conference
with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
to discuss migrant crisis on Tuesday, rather than a previously announced
summit in Istanbul.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0838 hrs