The president has reported that he and his wife are experiencing mild symptoms and they will continue to work from home.
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan have tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The president made the announcement on Saturday via his official Twitter account after appearing via videolink at a tunnel-opening ceremony from Istanbul.
“The results of the Covid-19 test that I had with my wife, after having mild symptoms today, were positive. Thankfully, we are going through a mild one,” Erdogan said on Twitter.
“We remain on duty. We will continue our work from home. We hope for your prayers,” Erdogan added.
The first lady, Emine Erdogan, replied to his tweet saying “God willing we will shake this infection off together with Mr Tayyip.”
The Turkish president received his third vaccine dose in June last year.
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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
Several world leaders wished Erdogan and the first lady a speedy recovery.
Those who sent messages include Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“On behalf of our government, the people of Pakistan and on my own behalf I wish them a swift and complete recovery,” Khan wrote on his Twitter account.
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I just learnt that my brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey and Madame Emine Erdogan tested positive for Covid-19 Omicron. On behalf of our government, the people of Pakistan and on my own behalf I wish them a swift and complete recovery.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 5, 2022
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wished his “friends Mr Tayyip and Mrs Emine a swift recovery”.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar conveyed his best wishes and also wished the president and the first lady a fast recovery.
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı Sn. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın @RTErdogan ve eşi Sn. Emine Erdoğan’ın #Covid19 testlerinin pozitif çıkmasını eşim Olena ile üzüntüyle öğrendik. Arkadaşlarımız Tayyip bey ve Emine Hanıma geçmiş olsun dileklerimizi iletiyor, acil şifalar diliyoruz.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 5, 2022
Turkiye’s battle with Covid
Turkiye requires people to isolate for seven days if they test positive. However if they test negative on the fifth day, they can leave quarantine.
The country 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 reported on Friday, a level not seen since October.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Turkiye’s President Erdogan, first lady test positive for Covid-19
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
