Turkey is bringing home more than 3,600 of its citizens who were stranded in nine European countries after Turkey suspended flights to 20 destinations over the coronavirus outbreak, The Associated Press reported.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Tuesday that citizens in Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands will be returned to Turkey later in the day, on board 34 Turkish Airlines flights.
He said the returnees will be placed in quarantine for 14 days in İstanbul and in the nearby city of Kocaeli.
Turkey uses student dormitories for quarantines, where police guard for security and health care professionals are stationed for immediate treatment.
More than 3,000 citizens coming from Umrah, a pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Madinah, last week were put under quarantine in such dormitories.
The number of coronavirus cases in Turkey has reached 47, according to the health minister. No deaths have yet been announced.