Turkey reports over 13,600 new COVID-19 cases

ANKARA

The downward trend in the number of daily cases in Turkey continued on Monday as the country reported over 13,600 new coronavirus cases, according to the Health Ministry data.

A total of 13,604 cases, including 1,734 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country, the data showed.

Turkey's overall case tally is over 5.04 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 43,311, with 282 fatalities over the past day.

As many as 26,953 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 4.74 million.

More than 49.60 million coronavirus tests have been done in Turkey to date, with 213,863 conducted since Sunday.

The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition stands at 2,983.

Earlier, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the latest weekly infection rates for COVID-19 across various regions of the country.

Sharing the data for May 1-7 on Twitter, Koca touted the country's current full lockdown, saying: “Our determination will continue to reduce the number of cases.”

In Turkey’s largest cities, the number of cases per 100,000 people was over 359 in Istanbul – home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population – and 247 in the capital Ankara and 161 in western Izmir province.

The provinces of Sirnak, Mardin, Sanliurfa, Adana and Van – in Turkey’s east and southeast – had the lowest COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people.

Since Turkey began a mass COVID-vaccination campaign on Jan. 14, it has administered over 25.1 million coronavirus vaccine jabs, according to official figures.

More than 14.64 million people to date have received their first doses, while second doses have been given to over 10.46 million.

To stem the spread of the virus, Turkey last Thursday began a nationwide lockdown set to last until May 17.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.29 million lives in 192 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 158.4 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 94.5 million.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases.