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Samples taken from a suspected coronavirus carrier in the north were sent to Turkey for examination, as per the request of the World Health Organization, Turkish Cypriot ‘Health Minister’ Ali Pilli said on Monday. The results came back negative, Turkish Cypriot media reported.
According to Turkish Cypriot media, Pilli, who received heavy criticism for sending the sample to Turkey, said that the north will also be able to begin carrying out its own coronarivus tests soon.
Reports emerged later on Monday that the sample, taken from a 74-year-old woman who was suspected of carrying the coronavirus, tested negative for the virus.
The woman, who began showing symptoms of high fever upon her return to the island after vacating in Dubai, will remain in the General Hospital in north Nicosia for treatment, as she has also been diagnosed with pneumonia.
Communal Democracy Party MP Hussein Angolemli, challenged ‘Parliament’ to outline the measures it has taken to combat the spread of the virus in the north, where he said thousands of foreign youths study.
Angolemi also inquired whether the findings of a study on coronavirus by Dr Ibrahim Benter have been taken into consideration. Benter, who studied medicine in the US and who has been conducting research in the US and EU for 34 years, has reportedly developed a system entitled ‘ACE2/Angiotensin 1-7’, which could block COVID-19.
In statements to Turkish Cypriot media on Monday, Benter said that persons may be carrying coronavirus for weeks without showing any symptoms, and stressed the need for the development of a vaccine.
According to Benter, quarantining suspected carriers is insufficient as a preventative measure, and described the way in which the virus is spreading as dangerous.
