Coronavirus: Turkey-made testing kits to be out soon

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey-made coronavirus testing kits will be available for use in the next one or two days, the country's health minister said Thursday.

"In the coming one or two days, a quick diagnosis kit will be ready," Fahrettin Koca told lawmakers in the Turkish parliament.

"Turkey has conducted over 10,000 tests so far [...] Our target is to carry out at least 10,000 to 15,000 tests daily," he said.

The health minister said the government will increase the number of laboratories to 36 nationwide.

"As of today, 18 labs are conducting tests in coordination with two university foundations," Koca said.

He said Turkey has 99,797 single-bed rooms that may be used for isolation or intensive care for patients, the minister said.

Praising the state-of-the-art city hospitals, Turkey's flagship project in health care, he said: "We are ready for all possible worst case scenarios in terms of physical and technological infrastructures."

Turkey late on Wednesday confirmed its second death from coronavirus.

Moreover, 93 new cases were confirmed, raising the tally to 191 in the country.

The health minister reiterated that preventive measures to avert the outbreak, such as staying at home and avoiding public gatherings, should be taken seriously.