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Turkey confirms 1st case of Covid-19

A woman wearing a protective face mask talks on her phone at the Central Business District in Beijing, Monday, March 2, 2020. China's manufacturing plunged in February as anti-virus controls shut down much of the world's second-largest economy, but companies are confident activity will revive following government stimulus efforts, according to two surveys. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Turkey has announced its first case of the new coronavirus.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said early Wednesday the case was a male patient who had returned from Europe. He would not provide more details on the patient, or say which country he had traveled to, citing the patient’s right to privacy.

Koca said the patient was isolated and his family members and other people who had come into contact with him had been quarantined.

“An early diagnosis was made. If there is an infection in the country, it is very limited,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying. “The coronavirus is not stronger than the measures we will take.”

More than half the countries in the world now have confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which for most people causes mild illness. In European countries, Italy is the hardest hit with more than 10,000 cases. France, Spain and Germany have more than 1,000 each. The outbreak has also grown in the Middle East, with Iran the hardest hit at more than 8,000 cases.

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