Turkish soldiers, Red Crescent help elderly COPD patient

The Turkish Armed Forces and Red Crescent volunteers helped an elderly man with chronic lung disease get a new oxygen tank Friday in eastern Turkey.

Mehmet Kahraman, 81, lives in Sulucem village in Ağrı province and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). When his oxygen tank went empty, he called 156, the emergency number for the Gendarmery Forces.

The Social Support Group, including volunteers from the Turkish Red Crescent and Gendarmery Forces in Sulucem secured an oxygen tank from a state hospital in the village and delivered it to Kahraman.

Due to measures to curb the spread of the virus, people older than 65 years and those with chronic conditions are prevented from leaving their homes in Turkey, but they can ask for help from the Social Support Group.

The novel coronavirus has claimed 1,769 lives in Turkey, with registered cases topping 78,500.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed nearly 149,000 people, with total infections exceeding 2.2 million, while nearly 566,000 have recovered, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.