Nearly 700 Turkish nationals evacuated over virus

Nearly 700 Turkish nationals were repatriated on May 16 from the United States and Kyrgyzstan as part of an initiative by Ankara over the coronavirus pandemic.

An exclusive Turkish Airlines flight with 354 Turks from the U.S. landed in the Black Sea province of Ordu. Separately, 330 Turks were evacuated from Kyrgyzstan and landed in metropolis Istanbul.

After routine health checks, the returnees were quarantined at dormitories in Antalya, Ordu, Giresun, and Bolu provinces.

To date, Turkey has repatriated nearly 70,000 nationals from 107 nations, under instructions by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and in coordination with the Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Turkish nationals, who were evacuated from Germany and Tanzania early on May 17, have been placed under a 14-day quarantine to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

A total of 157 Turks from Germany were taken to the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri and later sent to a student dormitory for quarantine after health checks.

In a separate operation, Turkey returned 53 citizens from Tanzania.

They arrived in Ankara on a chartered flight and were sent to Kırıkkale following similar procedures in Kayseri.

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