Turkey stands in solidarity with US against COVID-19

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey stands in solidarity with the US, its NATO ally, against the novel coronavirus, the country’s communications director said Monday.

“Turkey continues to deliver medical supplies to its friends and allies. We are proud to announce that 500,000 surgical masks and other PPE [personal protective equipment] will arrive at @Andrews_JBA tomorrow. We stand in solidarity with the United States, our NATO ally, against COVID-19,” Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.

Turkey has delivered aid to at least 57 countries so far to help them fight the coronavirus outbreak, including those badly hit by the virus such as the UK, Italy and Spain.

The US remains the country with the most infections, at nearly 987,467. It also has the highest number of deaths with over 56,000.

New York is the worst-hit state by the pandemic with 22,668 deaths and more than 291,900 cases, followed by New Jersey with 6,044 deaths and over 111,180 cases.

After originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world, with Europe and the U.S. now being the worst-hit regions.

Globally, the virus has infected more than 3 million people and has claimed over 210,800 lives, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University of the US. More than 892,000 have recovered.