Turkiye's President Erdogan, first lady test positive for Covid-19

The president has reported that he and his wife are experiencing mild symptoms and they will continue to work from home.

President Erdogan had received his third vaccine dose in June last year.
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President Erdogan had received his third vaccine dose in June last year.

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.

"This morning, our doctor performed our routine check-up. Thankfully, nothing bad." Erdogan said on Twitter on Sunday. 

"We have mild symptoms, and we continue our work from home with my wife."

He individually thanked world leaders for their well wishes.

The Turkish president received his third vaccine dose in June last year.

READ MORE: How worried should we be about the new Omicron variant?

Get well soon wishes from world leaders

Several world leaders wished Erdogan and the first lady a speedy recovery. 

Those who sent messages include Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa al Kadhimi, President of Israel Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, former Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic, Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of the Republic of Kosova Vjosa Osmani, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kazakhstan President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, President of Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Farmaajo, and President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele.

READ MORE: What we know about the Omicron sub-variant BA.2

In his message to Erdogan, Putin was quoted saying "Dear friend, I would like to sincerely support you and your spouse. I am sure that your vitality and good mood will help you defeat the virus as soon as possible."

In a written statement from Hamas, leader Ismail Haniyeh said the president and the first lady of Turkiye were in their prayers and wished them well on behalf of the Palestinian people.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali also conveyed get well soon wishes to President Erdogan and the first lady.

"On behalf of our government, the people of Pakistan and on my own behalf I wish them a swift and complete recovery," Pakistan's Prime Minister Khan wrote on his Twitter account.

Kazakhstan President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev said: "I wish President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan to get quick recovery from Omicron virus. Mr President, I sincerely wish well-being to your family." 

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wished President Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan a swift recovery from Covid-19.

Vjosa Osmani, President of the Republic of Kosova, also wished a speedy recovery to the president and the first lady. She added "Get well soon!" in Turkish on her Twitter account. 

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.

Guatemalan President also expressed his solidarity and wished a speedy recovery on behalf of the government and people of Guatemala.

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.

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