Quack infects 163 people with coronavirus in northern Turkey

A quack from Turkey's northern Black Sea region became a coronavirus superspreader, infecting more than 160 people.

The local COVID-19 outbreak became evident after an elderly man was hospitalized due to infection.

The man was isolating at home and supposedly had no visitors but when his health condition worsened due to an illness an "üfürükçü" was summoned. "Üfürükçü" is what Turks call a quack who claims to cure sickness by blowing at people and reciting prayers.

Authorities moved to trace everyone the quack has recently contacted as per standard procedure.

Following an investigation, COVID-19 tests were conducted and 163 came back positive.

Nearly 280 people across three villages have been quarantined.

Turkey has been reporting more than 30,000 new daily infections for the past five days. Meanwhile, daily fatalities hovered at around 190 over the same period.

The Turkish government rolled out a series of measures in the past weeks, including a partial weekend curfew that was extended to a full Friday night to Monday morning lockdown this week. On weekdays, a curfew was imposed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Schools, restaurants, cafes and several businesses were ordered to shut down. Local pandemic boards in each of the 81 provinces also started introducing new restrictions like limited access to crowded streets and squares.