UPDATE - No coronavirus cases in Turkey so far: Health minister

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - No cases of coronavirus have been found so far in Turkey, the country's health minister said Friday.

Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of a scientific committee on the virus, Fahrettin Koca said Turkish citizens set to come home from the Chinese city of Wuhan on a Turkish cargo plane have not been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The plane will take off from the capital Ankara in a few hours, Koca said.

It is due to airlift 34 Turkish citizens, seven Azerbaijanis, seven Georgians, and one Albanian from Wuhan after medical checks.

The Turkish plane will take off from the capital Ankara to evacuate Turkish citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the heart of the coronavirus outbreak.

The plane carries healthcare personnel experienced in infectious diseases.

No cruise ships are coming to Turkey from Chinese ports, he said, adding that cargo ships may come. All ships are undergoing strict inspections.

-Thermal cameras

Using thermal cameras, Turkey scans all passengers arriving from China by air. So far, 11,000 passengers have been scanned and no cases of coronavirus have been found, he stressed.

As of Jan. 31, a total of 9,810 coronavirus cases have been seen in 23 countries worldwide, 99% of them in China.

The novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan city, is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 213, the National Health Commission said Friday.

Some 9,692 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, have been reported in China.

The virus has raised alarms globally, with cases reported across Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Canada.

Travelers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide. Several airlines, including Turkish Airlines, have suspended flights to Wuhan and other parts of China.

At an emergency meeting Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak an international emergency.