Turkey closes border with Iran amid coronavirus concerns

Turkey has closed its border with Iran as a preventative measure against the deadly coronavirus outbreak, shortly after Iranian officials announced eight people were killed in the eastern neighbor.

The Kapıköy border in eastern Van province and the Esendere border gate in Hakkari province were closed to visitors from Iran, sources said Sunday.

Iran became the first country in the Middle East with confirmed cases of the COVID-19, as the health ministry announced 43 people have been infected so far.

Authorities in Van, a popular destination for Iranian tourists in eastern Turkey, installed thermal cameras at the Kapıköy border crossing on Thursday while border officers in contact with visitors are ordered to wear protective gear. Measures came amid an influx of Iranian tourists to Van, which shares Turkey's longest border with Iran, ahead of next month's Nowruz holiday.

Ankara has taken serious precautions and has successfully evacuated its citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly virus, which killed over 2,444 people in China alone.

Recently, the Iraqi government led by caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi also announced that they banned all arrivals from Iran over concerns about the spread of the virus.