President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday that both he and first lady Emine Erdoğan are experiencing no negative effects after testing positive for COVID-19, adding that they are continuing their work in isolation at their Istanbul home.
"Our doctor conducted a routine check this morning," the president said on Twitter and assured that the two were "going through the infection mildly."
"Ms. Erdoğan and I continue our work as usual."
President Erdoğan and first lady Emine Erdoğan tested positive for COVID-19 and are experiencing mild symptoms, the president's official personal Twitter account announced Saturday.
Erdoğan was due to attend an inauguration ceremony in northern Turkey's Zonguldak on Saturday but instead attended the event via videoconference earlier in the day.
During his address to officials and a crowd in the city, Erdoğan said that he had to cancel his visit after catching a cold that led his voice to become hoarse. Soon after, it was announced that the couple had contracted the omicron variant.
"We are on duty. We will continue our work from home. We ask for your prayers," the Twitter message read.
For her part, first lady Emine Erdoğan, 66, tweeted: "For better or worse. I hope we overcome this disease as soon as possible together with Mr. Tayyip. We look forward to your prayers."
The Turkish president received his third vaccine dose in June last year and publicly received his first dose in January to encourage the nationwide vaccination campaign. He will turn 68 later in February.
President Erdoğan will rest at his residence in Istanbul for a week before he is administered a second test, an advisor told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) by phone. In the meantime, he will join events via videoconference, the advisor added.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and other politicians wished Erdoğan and his wife well on Twitter.
Leaders both from within and outside Turkey wished the couple a speedy recovery. Those who sent messages include Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Ukraineian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Erdoğan relayed his and the first lady's thanks to the leaders for their wishes in separate Twitter posts.
Separately, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev called Erdoğan to wish him and his wife a quick recovery. During the conversation, the two leaders exchanged views on various aspects of Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood and friendship.
Erdoğan had a packed schedule from the beginning of the week, including attending a teachers' assignment meeting, a Cabinet meeting and another gathering with a delegation of businesspeople in the capital Ankara.
Erdoğan had also met with a Lebanese delegation led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday and visited Ukraine along with the first lady, Cabinet members and journalists for a two-day official visit.
During his time in Kyiv, the president met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leading government officials.
Erdoğan then attended Friday prayers at a mosque in Istanbul's Kadıköy district and was due to travel to Zonguldak on Saturday.
In a press conference before departing for Ukraine, Erdoğan looked visibly tired and was speaking with a hoarse voice and sneezing while delivering his remarks.
Turkey has recorded around 12 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 90,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The country requires people to isolate for seven days if they test positive. However, if they test negative on the fifth day, they can leave quarantine.
The country's daily number of cases has risen to over 100,000 in recent weeks, which officials have attributed to the highly contagious omicron variant. Masks are widely used in Turkey but there are no restrictions with schools and universities still open, and life continues as normal without curfews.
The latest official figures on Saturday showed 52.5 million have had their second vaccine dose in Turkey, which has a population of around 85 million. More than 25 million Turks have also got their third dose and officials continue to push for citizens to get vaccinated.
