Turkey extended measures against the coronavirus on Saturday, suspended flights to 46 more countries and banning picnics and barbecues, as the number of cases has roughly doubled every day for a week.
In a statement, the ministry said Turkey will halt its flights to 46 more countries as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Saturday as part of measures to combat the virus outbreak.
The latest decision brought the total number to 68 countries with which Turkey halted its flights.
The flight ban will include: Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Czechia, China, Colombia, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Georgia, Hungary, India, Italy, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Montenegro, Mongolia, Morocco, Moldova, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Norway, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, the Philippines, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Taiwan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K, Ukraine.
The death toll in Turkey due to the coronavirus rose to nine, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said late on Friday, after five elderly patients died of the highly contagious respiratory illness.
The number of confirmed cases in the country has surged since the first case was announced last week, reaching 670 on Friday.
Ankara had already banned flights with 22 countries, closed schools, cafes and bars, banned mass prayers and indefinitely postponed matches in its main sports leagues. The new ban applies to countries including Canada and the northern part of Cyprus.
On Saturday, it extended the ban to picnics and barbecues, as well as barbershops, hair and beauty salons.
The virus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has spread to at least 166 countries and territories, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
Out of almost 278,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 11,500, and more than 89,000 have recovered.
Despite the rising number of cases, most of the people who contract the virus suffer only mild symptoms and recover.
