124 overseas Turkish citizens die due to coronavirus
A total of 124 Turkish citizens living abroad have died so far due to the novel coronavirus, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on April 2. Çavuşoğlu also said that more than 20,000 citizens in total have been so far brought back to Turkey from 50 countries.
Anadolu Agency
A total of 124 overseas Turkish citizens died due to the coronavirus, said the country’s foreign minister on April 2.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made these remarks after attending a NATO foreign ministers' meeting via video conference.
He said more than 20,000 citizens in total have been so far brought back to Turkey from 50 countries.
Çavuşoğlu added that on March 17 and March 23-24, some 5,528 citizens were brought back to Turkey from 17 countries.
The foreign minister said efforts were underway for the return of more citizens, who have recently made requests.
Around 1,700 Algerian citizens stranded in Turkey will be sent back to their country starting on April 3, Çavuşoğlu said, noting he had spoken to his Algerian counterpart Sabri Boukadoum on the issue.
He noted there are 1,200 Turkish citizens stranded in Algeria and they would be brought back via Turkish and Algerian airlines.
As many as 1,000 Turkish citizens in Saudi Arabia will be also brought back on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, he said.
All the passengers will be put in quarantine upon their arrival, the minister said.
Çavuşoğlu's remarks came after Health Minister Fahrettin Koca earlier announced that Turkey’s deaths from the coronavirus increased by 79 to 356 on April 2, as the number of confirmed cases rose by 2,456 to 18,135.