Turkey repatriates COVID-19 patient from Russia

Turkey on Wednesday brought home one of its citizens from Russia after he contracted COVID-19.

Kemal Yılmaz, a 60-year old truck driver, was hospitalized after feeling sick on July 26 in Russia's southwestern city Volgograd, and tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

On his family's request from Turkish authorities, Yılmaz was brought back to Turkey and referred to a hospital in Turkey's Black Sea province of Trabzon.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 700,600 lives in at least 188 countries and regions since emerging in Wuhan, China last December.

Over 18.54 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the US, Brazil, India, and Russia currently the hardest-hit countries, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than half of all patients -- over 11.14 million -- have recovered so far.