Turkish leader reveals positive Covid-19 test
5 February 2022, 13:44
The 67-year-old Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier cancelled an appearance at a tunnel-opening ceremony, citing bad weather.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr Edrogan tweeted on Saturday: “Today my wife and I tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms. Thankfully, we’re experiencing slight symptoms that we have learned is the omicron variant.
“We are on duty. We will continue to work at home. We look forward to your prayers.”
Mr Erdogan, 67, sent the message after appearing via video link at a tunnel-opening ceremony from Istanbul, having cancelled his appearance in person, citing bad weather.
Bugün hafif belirtiler üzerine eşimle birlikte yaptırdığımız COVID-19 testimizin sonucu pozitif çıktı. Omicron varyantı olduğunu öğrendiğimiz hastalığı hamdolsun hafif geçiriyoruz.
Görevimizin başındayız. Çalışmalarımıza evde devam edeceğiz. Dualarınızı bekliyoruz.
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 5, 2022
The president showed no signs of illness in his televised appearance.
Turkey has seen record levels of Covid-19 cases in recent days, with 111,157 cases reported by the health ministry on Friday.
In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000 but have risen due to the highly transmissible omicron variant.
The country is also seeing a high number of fatalities due to Covid-19, with 248 deaths on Friday – a level not seen since October.
