Turkish envoy talks measures taken on border amid coronavirus spread

24 February 2020 18:00 (UTC+04:00)

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Restrictions on entry through the Diluju border checkpoint on Turkey's border with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic entered into force on Feb. 23 at 17:00, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral told reporters while commenting on the entries through Diluju amidst the spread of coronavirus in Iran, Trend reports.

Erkan Ozoral noted that a number of measures have been taken at this checkpoint regarding the coronavirus threat in Iran.

Iranian officials have pointed out on Feb. 24 that 60 people have been confirmed to be infected with coronavirus. Several states have already closed borders with Iran and put a ban on flights to the Islamic Republic.

The Diluju border checkpoint is located at the tip of the corridor that connects Turkey with Azerbaijan's Nakchivan Autonomous Republic. Also, the corridor borders Armenia to the north, and Iran to the south.

"We will provide the necessary information to the official circles of Azerbaijan regarding the measures taken. Turkish and Azerbaijani officials keep close contact and hold discussions," the ambassador said.

The envoy added that the restrictive measures at the Diluju checkpoint have recently been applied.

"The measures will be specified today," Erkan Ozoral said.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. Since then over 2,360 people have died and over 79,000 people have been confirmed as infected.

Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. The symptoms include cough, headache, fatigue, fever, aching and difficulty breathing. It is primarily spread through airborne contact or contact with contaminated objects.

Chinese health authorities say that the majority of the people who have died were either elderly or had underlying health problems.

Aside from Mainland China, the cases of coronavirus spreading have also been confirmed in South Korea, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Iran, Thailand, the US, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Germany, Vietnam, the UAE, the UK, France, Macau, Canada, Philippines, India, Russia, Spain, Lebanon, Nepal, Cambodia, Israel, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Egypt and Sri Lanka.

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