The Afghan man identified only with his first name, Habibullah, was fishing at a lake when a man, identified with his initials U.G., approached him and picked a fight, shouting, “Are you bringing the coronavirus here?”
Suffering three stab wounds in total, Habibullah was hospitalised and remains in critical condition.
U.G. was detained by the police, who announced later that the attacker had mental health issues.
Turkey on Friday confirmed the fifth case of the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus in the country. Authorities say four of the five cases were diagnosed while under isolation for coming into contact with the first man who had been confirmed last week, but have not made public where the infection first spread, leading to speculation.