Turkey to evacuate more than 3,000 Turkish students

More than 3,000 Turkish students in seven countries that have suspended international flights because of the coronavirus, will be evacuated, Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Turkish television at least 3,358 students in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) applied to Turkey’s diplomatic missions demanding to be evacuated.

The process will start Sunday and students will be quarantined 14 days in dormitories in Sakarya and Samsun provinces.

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He said Turkey has been providing moral and material support to Turkish citizens in countries where entrances and exits are closed.

“If there is a global problem, we need to face it with the entire international community, fight together and increase solidarity,” he said and pointed to the possibility of a G20 meeting via video conference in coming days.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to at least 167 countries and regions, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

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Out of more than 303,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now nears 13,000, while more than 91,600 have recovered.

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

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.