ANKARA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Wednesday warned about the COVID-19 in Turkey, as the virus outbreak in Europe poses a serious risk to the country.
"The plight of the situation in Europe will probably not be limited to the situation last night. The risk is serious," the minister told reporters, citing the first coronavirus case confirmed in Turkey on Tuesday evening.
Koca said that the patient had "contact" with Europe.
His remarks came at a press conference with Turkish ministers of trade and tourism after a meeting of a council formed for the COVID-19 outbreak.
The health minister urged the citizens not to travel abroad and stay at home for two weeks if they arrived from another country.
He also called on citizens not to get panic and take precautionary measures, adding that Turkey has necessary medicine stocks.
Turkey's Minister of Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy urged the tourism organizations in Turkey to postpone the demand for tourism from abroad to Turkey till the end of April.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a meeting on Thursday with relevant ministers and institutions about coronavirus outbreak and decide on further measures.
