ANKARA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities warned that the mask-producing companies should comply with the decision to sell their products to the government by Monday night, said Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
"Some of the mask manufacturers hold the masks in their warehouses. As of 8:00 a.m. yesterday, we have carried on simultaneous raids on all producers in Turkey," the minister said in an online statement on Monday.
"We warned them once again to sign contracts with our Health Ministry by 20:00 p.m. tonight (Monday). Otherwise, we have other authorities and we will never shy away from using these," Soylu stated, implying that the factories which disobey the government decision will be seized.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Turkey rose to 30 on Sunday, and the total number of confirmed cases climbed to 1,236 in the country, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Koca added that more than 20,000 tests have been conducted so far. All the dead people are elderly, he added, calling on people to stay at home.
