Turkey quarantines pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia

ISTANBUL: Turkey quarantined thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia, officials said, as the country recorded a dozen more coronavirus cases.

The total number of confirmed incidents in over 80 million strong Turkey has reached 18, with 12 new cases, two related to the first case, seven from Europe and three from the United States, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter.

"All the passengers returning from pilgrimage as of last night (Saturday) are being placed into separate rooms for quarantine" in student dorms in the capital Ankara and nearby Konya provinces, the minister said.

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 Mecca -- over the last week had tested positive. "Those found suspicious are hospitalised as soon as they return and tested," he said. Turkish television showed pilgrims in Ankara wearing protective masks taken in buses to the dormitories.

The umrah, which can be undertaken at any time of year, attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe annually. It remains unclear however how the coronavirus will affect the hajj, due to start in late July. Saudi Arabia has suspended the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage over fears surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

The kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year in Islam´s holiest cities of Mecca and Medina, has said the move was provisional. Turkey´s religious affairs authority, Diyanet, said the travels for pilgrimage have been halted from February 27.

"The number of cases in Turkey has unfortunately risen to 18 today," said Fahrettin Altun, the senior press aide of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey had mobilised all resources to confront this "unprecedented challenge", he added. —