UPDATE - Turkey sends medical supplies to Tunisia amid outbreak

UPDATES WITH MINISTRY TWEET

By Sena Guler

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Friday sent medical aid supplies to Tunisia to be used in the fight against novel coronavirus, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry.

“Medical aid supplies, prepared at the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for use against the COVID-19 outbreak, have been sent to Tunisia,” the ministry said on Twitter.

“Along with the medical supplies, a letter from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also delivered to the officials to be submitted to the President of Tunisia Kais Saied,” the ministry also added.

In a Wednesday statement, Turkish foreign minister said some two-thirds of the nations of the world have requested medical supplies from Turkey to fight coronavirus, and nearly half of these requests were met.

The countries included the worst hit ones such as Italy, Spain, and the UK, while Turkey remains the world's third-largest provider of humanitarian aid during the pandemic.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed around 269,600 worldwide, with total infections over 3.84 million, while more than 1.28 million patients have recovered, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.