Turkey repatriates citizen who tested positive for Covid-19 in Sweden
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca ordered the country's air ambulance to bring back home Emrullah Gulusken, 47, after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 but denied treatment there.
Crew of an ambulance plane, place 47-year-old Emrullah Gulusken, who was not treated in Sweden although he tested positive for Covid-19, onto an ambulance upon their arrival in capital Ankara, Turkey on April 26, 2020.
An air ambulance flew back Turkish expat Emrullah Gulusken to capital Ankara from the Swedish city of Malmo after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 but denied treatment there.
His four children also accompanied the 47-year old father. Gulusken was immediately taken to a hospital in Ankara for treatment.
Daughters of the Turkish citizen thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Health Minister Fahrettin Koca for their initiative.
"We have heard your voice, our plane is on its way, we are coming to Sweden," Koca had earlier tweeted, ordering to bring Gulusken and his children back.
Bir kız evlat, COVID-19 hastası babası için hiçbirimizin unutamayacağı bir şey yaptı. Ülkemiz harekete geçti. Ambulans uçağımız sabah İsveç’ten hastamızı aldı. Birazdan Ankara’da olacak. (Sevgili Leyla, biz 25 bin hastamızı iyileştirdik. İnşallah Emrullah Bey de iyileşecek.) pic.twitter.com/J5xvaOFZHg
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) April 26, 2020
"I knew my country would support us no matter what. They stood with us in this difficult time and did everything they can. I thank Minister Koca. May Allah protect our country," the patient's daughter Leyla tweeted back.
Turkey's communications director Fahrettin Altun also shared the development on Twitter.
"Turkish national Emrullah Gulusken was not treated in Sweden although he tested positive for the virus. We are bringing him to Turkey with an ambulance plane," he said.
İsveç’te yaşayan vatandaşımız Emrullah Gülüşken’in Kovid- 19 testi pozitif çıkmasına rağmen tedavi edilmedi. Devletimiz elbette bu duruma duyarsız kalmadı. Emrullah Bey’i ambulans uçakla ülkemize getiriyoruz. Cumhurbaşkanımızın liderliğinde milletimiz için çalışıyoruz.
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) April 26, 2020
"We are proud to be Turkish. Turkish officials did not stop contact for even a moment. A plane was sent to Malmo, and an ambulance will take us from the airport. May Allah protect our country," the patient's daughter Samira answered Altun's tweet.
Ankara reached out for help after Samira shared a video on social media about her father’s condition yesterday.
Turkey's Embassy in Stockholm and the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) contacted the family, and Koca talked to the younger Gulusken.
"After a doctor came home and checked my father, he called the ambulance and asked to be taken to the hospital. After being hospitalized, he was diagnosed with the Covid-19. Despite this, they sent my father back home," she told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
After originating in China last December, the virus has spread to at least 200 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.
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