CORRECTION- Turkish businesses pledge millions of masks

CORRECTS FIGURE OF MASKS; NEW HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ALSO UPDATED WITH MORE REMARKS BY ISMAIL GULLE

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – In the face of the coronavirus outbreak, Turkish businesses are stepping up to make millions of protective masks and disinfectants available to fight the disease, said a business leader on Tuesday.

The goal is to start with the production of 1 million masks per day and eventually reach 40 million a month, in particular for Turkish healthcare workers, said Ismail Gulle, head of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly.

To meet the needs of healthcare professionals together with many chemical and textile firms, exporters are launching a national production mobilization to redress supply shortages of masks and disinfectants.

He added that Turkish exporters are aware of the seriousness of the pandemic, promising to stand in solidarity with Turkey’s “heroes,” its healthcare workers.

Additional measures include stepped-up efforts to boost the number of cargo planes needed by exporters to ship goods abroad.

Measures to export goods with no risky human contact, now in effect at the Iraqi and Iranian border crossings, are being prepared for the Kapikule customs gate at the Turkish-Bulgarian border, he added.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 168 countries and regions around the globe, with nearly 384,000 confirmed cases and over 16,500 deaths, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

So far, 37 people have died of the virus in Turkey, with 1,529 cases confirmed.

China, Italy, Iran, and Spain continue to be the hardest-hit countries.