No Turks among coronavirus victims in Italy: envoy

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) – No Turkish citizen has so far died of coronavirus in Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe, Turkey's Milano consul general said Wednesday.

Turks in Italy managed to protect themselves against the virus, Ozgur Uluduz told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.

“We are in good condition. Those who were taken to the hospitals have been discharged and we have no one in intensive care units [at the moment],” he said, hoping that the situation continues as such.

Uluduz said that Turkish citizens in Italy followed the rules set by local authorities in letter and spirit.

Among the nearly 50,000 Turkish citizens in the country, most of them in the Milan area, he said, only 10-15 contracted the virus.

"We have been working hard to repatriate Turkish expats in Milan and Rome," he said, adding that a flight was expected to take them back to Turkey on April 24.

The Milan area includes the city of Milan and 133 other municipalities or communes.

Italy has the highest number of virus-linked deaths -- 24,648 -- in Europe. Nearly 184,000 people have tested positive -- less than Spain's 208,000-plus.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan, China late last year.

*Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak