Turkish Cypriots among latest UK coronavirus deaths

At least 80 Turkish Cypriots living in the UK died due to novel coronavirus, an official said on late Sunday.

"According to the official figures, we have so far lost 80 citizens in the UK as a result of the epidemic," said Kudret Ozersay, the deputy prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), according to Turkish media.

"Among them were so many beautiful people, who have made an important contribution to Turkish Cypriots living in England," Ozersay said on the social media.

The TRNC confirmed its first case on March 10, while four people, including two German citizens, have died due to the coronavirus.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019 in China's Hubei province, and the virus has spread to 210 countries and territories since then.

To date, COVID-19 cases surpassed 2,400,000 globally, resulting in more than 620,000 recoveries and over 165,000 deaths.

On February 11, the WHO officially named the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as COVID-19, and on March 11, declared it a pandemic.