Qom

Turkey has announced that it suspended railway services over its Iranian border due to the number of coronavirus cases in its eastern neighbor.

Turkish State Railways (TCDD) said in a written statement that passenger and freights trains between Turkey and Iran has been temporarily halted, starting from 5:00 p.m. local time (1400GMT) on Feb. 23.

Iran on Feb. 22 ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres after a coronavirus outbreak that has killed eight people in the Islamic republic -- the most outside the Far East.

The moves came as Iranian authorities reported one more death among 15 new cases of the virus.

Turkey has started to screen travelers arriving from Iran at border gates and is refusing entry to anyone with signs of illness after four people died from the new virus that emerged in China, along with 750 suspected cases.