ISTANBUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced that health officials have been following up 53,000 people at their homes across the country over suspicion of COVID-19.
At a televised address to the nation, Erdogan said a total of 8,554 cases have been under surveillance in hospitals.
"Samples were taken from 4,603 of them for further examinations," he noted.
"Our only request from our citizens is that they should strictly follow the general warnings to prevent the spread of the disease in the next critical days," Erdogan said. "So that we can return to our normal life as soon as possible."
He stressed that his country is expected to overcome the virus with as little damage as possible within two to three weeks.
Turkey has so far recorded 1,872 confirmed cases, among whom 44 have died.
