TV travel presenter Burak Akkul says he tested positive for coronavirus

Duvar English

TV travel presenter Burak Akkul late on March 16 tweeted that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Akkul said that health officials are applying the necessary treatment.

Akkul hosts a travel TV show named "Çok Gezenti" on entertainment channel teve2. He visits various travel destinations and demonstrates local attractions in his program.

Earlier on March 16, Akkul had tweeted that he and his wife were placed in quarantine since five days ago after suspected of having contracted the virus.

He said in the video that health officials had not still informed him if his or his wife's test results came positive or not.

“It has been unfortunately 96 hours; and they [health officials] are neither telling me nor my wife what the test result is. What I ask of you is to share this video as much as possible. I plead with the ministries to tell us the [test] results,” Akkul was heard saying in the video.

Just hours after this video, the tweet was deleted. Later in the day, Akkul recorded another video, in which he told his followers that his test result had come positive.

Burak Akkul's wife, Seda, also shared a video on social media on March 16, saying she was not staying at hospital like her husband, but was in isolation at home.

"After Burak's video [appeared on social media], people thought I was also at hospital. Burak is staying at hospital, whereas I am staying in isolation at home. My tests were conducted yesterday. I am waiting for the results," Seda Akkul said, saying she and her husband had previously visited the United Kingdom.

When the couple returned to Turkey, they initially applied to the hospital, but when they seemed healthy, they were discharged. However, later Burak Akkul's health situation worsened, leading him to be placed in quarantine at the hospital, Seda Akkul said. "His health has now stabilized...I hope that Burak will get better soon," Seda Akkul said.

Early on March 16, Turkish officials announced that the country had so far identified a total of 18 coronavirus cases.

Late on March 16, however, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the number of coronavirus cases in Turkey rose to 47, with 29 new cases confirmed.