Turkey: Over 33,000 people going home after quarantine

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

ANKARA (AA) - More than 33,000 patients in Turkey have been released after spending two weeks in quarantine at student dormitories, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Tuesday.

The agency said 62,854 patients were quarantined, most brought home from abroad, in all but four of Turkey’s 81 provinces.

It said 33,708 have completed the 14-day quarantine period and were released after negative test results for COVID-19.

University students and those in need were sent homes free of charge with AFAD coordination.

AFAD said it supports the Vefa Social Support Group with nearly 1,100 staffers and 446 vehicles and the two groups have spent more than 61 million Turkish liras ($8.7 million) for senior citizens and those who have chronic illnesses.

After Turkey declared a partial curfew for seniors and those with chronic diseases last month, the Interior Ministry established the Vefa group to help them, particularly who live alone.

The group has helped meet the needs of more than 1.5 million seniors under the lockdown.

Turkey confirmed Tuesday 92 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 2,992.

The number of registered cases surged to 114,653, as an additional 2,392 patients tested positive for the virus, according to the Health Ministry.