Turkey’s President Erdogan tested positive for Covid-19

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan tested positive for Covid-19, as the Minister of Health announced that they have mild symptoms and “their condition is well enough not to hinder them for work.”

“Today my wife and I tested positive for Covid-19 which we had taken after mild symptoms. Thank God, we have experience mild symptoms and we learned that we have an Omicron variant. We are at work. We will continue our work at home. We look forward to your prayers,” Erdoğan posted on Feb. 5 on his official Twitter account.

His post came hours after he had cancelled a a tunnel-opening ceremony visit in Zonguldak, northern province of Turkey, and appeared at the ceremony via video link. He said at the ceremony that he could not participate the ceremony in person “because of some mild illness.”

President Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan went into isolation at their home in Kısıklı, Istanbul.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the health of the Erdogan couple is “good enough not to disrupt their work”. Koca stated that the number of cases has increased due to the easy spread of the Omicron variant emphasizing the importance of vaccination.

“In this period when the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, on mild symptoms. The Covid-19 test for our President and his wife Emine Erdoğan was positive. Their state of health is good enough not to hinder their work. I offer them our best wishes once again,” Koca posted on Twitter on Feb. 5.

Turkish president received his third vaccine, and publicly defends Covid-19 vaccination. According to Ministry of Health’s latest announcement, as of Feb. 4, the number of cases has risen to more than 110,000, and number of people who have died on that day was 248. The latest official figures showed 52.5 million people have had their second vaccine dose and more than 25 million citizens have got their third dose.