Total number of confir­med incide­nts in Turkey has reache­d 18, with 12 new casesISTANBUL: Turkey on Sunday quarantined thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, officials said, as the country recorded a dozen more coronavirus cases. Approximately 10,000 pilgrims returned from Saudi Arabia Saturday night, youth and sports minister Mehmet Kasapoglu was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency. Koca said one of the pilgrims who returned from the umrah – the Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah – over the last week had tested positive. Saudi Arabia has suspended the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage over fears surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. “The number of cases in Turkey has unfortunately risen to 18 today,” said Fahrettin Altun, the senior press aide of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Source: The Express Tribune March 15, 2020 22:41 UTC