Turkey reports over 5,500 more COVID-19 patients

ISTANBUL

Turkey registered 5,532 more coronavirus patients over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released on Saturday.

The new cases raised the country's overall count to 440,805.

A total of 3,233 more patients recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to 370,825, while the death toll rose by 135 to reach 12,219.

More than 152,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country, taking the total to over 17 million.

The number of patients in critical condition now stands at 4,121, with 3.8% this week suffering from pneumonia, the data showed.

In a Twitter post, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged people to follow safety guidelines, saying the number of critical patients and the loss of lives was painful.

Starting this week, Turkey has imposed a partial weekend curfew as part of efforts to stem the virus’ spread.

Across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.37 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of case numbers, while Europe is also currently in the grip of a devastating second wave of infections.

More than 57.77 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 37 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.