Coronavirus under control in Turkey, says health minister

By Dilara Hamit and Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has registered a constant recovery in week five since the first COVID-19 case was reported and the pandemic is under control, the health minister said Wednesday.

"We have been in a steady recovery since week five of outbreak. Under current conditions, the pandemic is under control," Fahrettin Koca said during a news conference following a virtual meeting of Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board.

Some 70% of total coronavirus patients have recovered so far, Koca said.

A total of 98,889 patients have recovered from coronavirus in Turkey, he said. The tally of cases reached 141,475 as the country registered 1,704 new cases.

The death toll from the pandemic rose to 3,894 as the country saw 53 more fatalities.

"Although our daily test capacity [for COVID-19] has reached 50,000, there is no need for such an amount due to the decline in new cases," Koca added.

Meanwhile, the filiation team of 6,239 people reaches out to 722,000 people contacting a patient since the first coronavirus case was recorded in Turkey, the top health official said.