Measures tightened as coronavirus moves closer to Turkey
BY DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL
TURKEY
FEB 26, 2020 4:17 PM GMT+3
A municipality worker disinfects a bus against virus risk in the eastern Turkish city of Van, which borders Iran, Feb. 26, 2020. (AA Photo)
As cases of the coronavirus spread further, Turkey remains among the few countries in its region spared from COVID-19. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, however, warns that the risk is greater than ever for Turkey and says the country will take heightened measures to ensure minimum impact
From Iran and Iraq to Greece, the coronavirus – or COVID-19 – is making its way around the countries neighboring Turkey, which connects Asia and Europe. The country has not yet reported a single case of the virus, but the government acknowledges the possibility of future risks and is ramping up measures, from flight bans to border closures.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca signaled the heightened measures in light of the high number of cases in Turkey's eastern neighbor, Iran. “We have to be in control,” Koca told Anadolu Agency (AA) in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
Turkey brought a number of Turkish citizens home from Iran on Tuesday with a specially arranged evacuation flight carrying 142 people including crew members and placed all under quarantine in the capital Ankara.
None of the 142 people tested positive for coronavirus, the minister said in a separate press conference.
Panic has gripped the world in response to the lack of an effective treatment for the fast-spreading virus, which has brought about an equally rapid stream of fake news and false rumors. Turkish social media has also had its fair share of unfounded claims regarding a government cover-up of cases. The Health Minister reiterated that there have been no cases in the country. “You can’t hide anything from the world, still less from the World Health Organization (WHO). You can’t say someone infected with the virus does not have it. You have to treat it and stop him or her from coming in contact with others; you have to prevent more infections,” he said.
Koca shared the opinion of the health community, which assesses that warmer weather will lead to a decline in the number of cases. “We want to keep Turkey away from the virus as long as possible though we cannot rule out any possibility. We see cases everywhere, in Europe, in Italy for instance, but they quickly took measures,” he said.
“The risk is here, on our doorstep. We see it spreads to the region, to Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and it originates from Qom (in Iran). We have to confront it so it won’t spread across our borders,” he said.
Turkey closed its border crossings with Iran on Sunday and was screening arrivals from Iran with thermal cameras. Twenty-eight people were banned from entering Turkey over suspicion of having coronavirus last weekend alone. The country has four border crossings with Iran and Koca said any visitors who have been to Qom or Mashhad, two Iranian cities with reported cases, will be placed in quarantine automatically. The country also plans to set up field hospitals on the border to immediately quarantine anyone suspected of having coronavirus. It has also readied hospitals in eastern Turkey where the border is located in order to shore up the quarantine measures. The health minister said they had placed 23 people who visited Qom and Mashhad in quarantine since last week.
Listing examples of Turkey’s preventative measures, Koca said he had personally intervened to stop an incoming flight from an unnamed country from landing due to suspicious incidents aboard. “We did not even allow them to refuel and diverted it to another country in Europe. It was a Turkish Airlines (THY) flight with Turkish crewmembers. Crewmembers were also not allowed back in Turkey and instructed to spend 14 days of quarantine in the country where the plane landed,” he said.
Koca called on the public not to succumb to panic. “There is no virus here, and we have every equipment and staff to contain it if there is a case,” he said.
Turkey has already taken measures before WHO declared an emergency on the issue and set up a Science Board, a task force monitoring the developments regarding the virus and taking measures. It also designated some hospitals as specialized hospitals for quarantine measures.
Travel warning for Iraq and Italy
The Turkish Foreign Ministry Wednesday issued a travel warning for citizens planning to travel to Italy and Iraq. The ministry said in a statement that citizens were strongly recommended to avoid non-essential visits to regions in Italy and Iraq where coronavirus cases were reported. The ministry called Turkish citizens who are living in Italy or who were required to travel there to take precautions for their health and follow the warnings and statements by Turkish diplomatic missions in Italy and WHO. For Iraq, the ministry advised citizens to stay away from areas with reported cases.
Media outlets also reported that the Turkish civil aviation authority suspended all flights, including private, cargo and charter flights, to and from Iran.
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/measures-tightened-as-coronavirus-moves-closer-to-turkey/news
Turkish firms triple mask production to meet Chinese demand
BY DAILY SABAH
ISTANBUL
BUSINESS
FEB 26, 2020 1:12 PM GMT+3
People wear face masks in a street in Beijing, China, Feb. 26, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
Turkish firms producing medical masks have increased their production volume in line with the ever-growing demand from China amid the country’s struggle to fight the outbreak of the new type of coronavirus.
Coronavirus has spread further around the world as a World Health Organisation warns that countries outside China are “simply not ready” for a pandemic.
Local firms with monthly production capacities of 10 million masks have already tripled their production capacity.
The disease is believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has spread rapidly, infecting about 80,000 people globally and killing more than 2,700, the vast majority in mainland China.
Metin Demir, chairman of the Turkish Health Industries Employer’s Union (SEIS), told Anadolu Agency (AA) that there are currently 10 firms in Turkey that produce medical masks, five of which are large-scale companies. He added that now all the companies have increased their production capacity and have been exporting to China, which was the world’s largest mask-producing country.
Demir said that although Turkish firms have increased their production capacity up to 30 million monthly, this is still not enough to meet the demand coming from China.
“China leads the way in producing medical consumable substances,” Demir said, adding: “However, with the emergence of the new coronavirus epidemic both the mask stocks have melted and the production has halted in a country that has 1.3 billion population.”
He noted that China, which had previously eliminated several producers in the market with price competition, now lacks the needed products, adding that medical device and medical consumable products are actually very strategic industries.
https://www.dailysabah.com/business...triple-mask-production-to-meet-chinese-demand
