Turkey seizes 700,000 illegally produced face masks

ADANA, Turkey

Turkish security forces seized 700,000 face masks which were illegally produced and sold in southern Adana province, sources said Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, provincial gendarmerie command teams carried out raids in three different locations in Seyhan and Cukurova districts, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Four suspects were arrested.

Some of the masks, which meet the production criteria of the Health Ministry, were delivered to the Adana Directorate of Provincial Agriculture and Forestry.

On April 5, Turkey started distributing free face masks to citizens to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Every citizen except those aged 20 or under and 65 or older can apply for five free masks weekly.

Turkey imposed restrictions on those over 65 years old or below 20 and they are not allowed to leave home.

Turkey has confirmed a total of 2,376 fatalities from the novel coronavirus, while the number of confirmed cases has reached 98,674, according to official figures Wednesday.

Since first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

More than 2.62 million cases have been confirmed worldwide and at least 183,000 deaths with over 711,000 recoveries.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar