Turkey halts flights from Iran, closes its border following spike in coronavirus cases

Duvar English

Turkey has halted flights from Iran and closed its border with the country, as Ankara has been on alert due to the spike in the number of coronavirus cases in neighboring Iran.

Turkey's border with Iran was closed following the increasing number of infections and deaths, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Feb. 23.

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Koca also said that flights from Iran to Turkey were canceled.

Earlier, he said that necessary precautions were taken to prevent coronavirus infections.

"We are not allowing people with coronavirus symptoms and who have high fever from Iran to enter Turkey," Koca said.

Iran on Feb. 23 confirmed 15 new cases of the new coronavirus, taking the total to 43 with a death toll of eight. Most of the infections have been in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom.

Social media users have been pointing to the ongoing flights between Turkey and Iran, urging authorities to cancel them.

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Koca said that health personnel were deployed to Gürbulak Border Gate in the eastern province of Ağrı, Kapıköy Border Gate in the eastern province of Van, Esendere Border Gate in the southeastern province of Hakkari and the Dilucu Border Gate in the eastern province of Iğdır.

Turkish Medical Association, meanwhile, urged the ministry to take measures against the virus more actively.