The second person infected was close to a man diagnosed earlier this week, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

“We are taking the necessary measures to confine the possible spread of the virus to within these limits,” Koca said on Twitter.

Turkey stepped up measures to arrest the spread of the illness on Thursday, temporarily shutting schools and universities, barring fans from sports events and telling citizens who have travelled abroad to self-isolate, Ahval reported.

The government has barred visitors from the nation’s parliament in Ankara until the end of the month, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns over the economic impact of the virus pushed the lira to its lowest level since September 2018 in trading yesterday. The currency was little changed at 6.31 per dollar as of 10:12 a.m. local time on Friday.

Reporter’s code: 50101