Turkey: Over 60,000 return home following quarantine

ANKARA

More than 60,000 people in Turkey have completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine period at designated student dormitories, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Monday.

The agency said that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 70,672 people across 77 provinces have been quarantined. Most of them had returned from abroad.

It added that a total of 60,385 completed the quarantine period and were released after testing negative for COVID-19.

The return of the quarantiners to their homes was free of charge and coordinated by AFAD. Some 2,011 AFAD personnel have served during the quarantine and release process.

The agency added that it had supported social support groups known as Vefa with nearly 1,100 personnel and 446 vehicles.

They have so far spent more than 71 million Turkish liras (over $10 million) for senior citizens and patients of chronic illnesses, who are at particular risk due to the virus.

After Turkey declared a partial curfew for seniors and those with chronic diseases in March, the Interior Ministry established the Vefa groups to help the public, particularly those who live alone.

As of Sunday, Turkey registered a total of 3,786 deaths due to coronavirus whereas nearly 92,691 people have recovered from the disease. Currently, there are 138,657 confirmed cases in the country.

More than 4.1 million cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since the virus emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe the world's hardest-hit areas.

A significant number of COVID-19 patients -- over 1.42 million -- have recovered, but the disease has also claimed more than 283,000 lives so far, according to data compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.