UPDATES WITH EVACUATION FROM KUWAIT
By Izzet Taskiran and Kenan Irtak
ISTANBUL/ANKARA (AA) – A group of Turkish nationals, who were evacuated from Tunisia and Kuwait, were placed under a 14-day quarantine on Wednesday as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A total of 340 Turkish citizens were evacuated from Kuwait and landed at Esenboga Airport in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The group was placed in dormitories for a 14-day quarantine process after health checks.
Another group of Turkish nationals, who were evacuated from Tunisia, were placed under isolation for 14 days.
Their flight landed at Istanbul Airport and the group was housed in a dormitory in the Yalova province, roughly 130 kilometers away (80 miles), after health checks.
Turkey has so far brought home over 65,000 of its nationals from 103 countries, according to officials.
As of Wednesday, the country reported a total of 131,744 coronavirus cases and 78,202 of them have fully recovered. The death toll stands at 3,584.
COVID-19 cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since it emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe now the hardest-hit areas.
The pandemic has killed more than 260,000 worldwide, with total infections over 3.72 million, while recoveries surpassed 1.22 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.
