Turkey ramps up measures to prevent coronavirus spread

By Sena Guler and Firdevs Bulut

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's president on Thursday postponed foreign visits amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's official visits abroad will be postponed "for a while," spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters at a press conference following a five-hour meeting at the presidential complex on the novel coronavirus.

Kalin also announced that primary, middle and high schools in the country would be closed for a week starting March 16.

Universities will also be closed for three weeks starting March 16, he said.

In addition, middle and high school students will receive remote education beginning on March 23 as part of precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Kalin also noted that the condition of Turkey's only coronavirus patient was currently stable.

Turkey on early Wednesday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, with the health minister urging citizens to avoid international travel unless absolutely necessary.

The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China last December and has spread to at least 114 countries.

The global death toll is now over 4,600, with more than 124,500 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has declared the outbreak “a pandemic.”