COVID-19: 9,800 people under quarantine in Turkey: Official

By Ertugrul Subasi and Muhammed Boztepe

ANKARA (AA) - Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, 9,800 people are currently under quarantine in Turkey, Turkish interior minister said on Thursday.

Speaking to the reporters in the parliament, Suleyman Soylu said the number of quarantined people, including pilgrims who returned from their Umrah visit in Saudi Arabia, is 9,800 across the country.

Umrah is the Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that Muslims can undertake at any time of the year.

He also said 64 of 242 suspects allegedly posting fake and provocative coronavirus posts on social media were detained.

Turkey has so far reported 191 cases, with three deaths.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to at least 160 countries and territories. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Out of more than 229,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 9,300, and over 84,500 have recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

Despite the rising number of cases, most who become infected suffer only mild symptoms and recover.

* Writing by Fahri Aksut