Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and wife test positive for Covid-19

By Isil Sariyuce, for CNN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine, have tested positive for Covid-19.

Erdogan said on Twitter that the couple had contracted the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and were experiencing mild symptoms.

“We will continue our work at home. We look forward to your prayers,” he said.

Erdogan had traveled to Ukraine on Thursday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the ongoing tensions with Russia in the area, before returning home to Turkey.

The Turkish President said he was willing to serve as a mediator and host a summit between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Erdogan had his third dose of the coronavirus vaccine in June, he said in an interview last year.

Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in Turkey since the Omicron variant become the dominant strain in the country in January.

More than 100,000 new cases were reported Tuesday, a new record, according to government data.

At least 61% of all people in the country have received two doses of a vaccine, though authorities have been urging citizens to get booster shots — including the domestically made Turkovac vaccine.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Maija Ehlinger contributed to this report