By Burak Bir
ANKARA (AA) - Amid a slowdown in daily coronavirus cases, Turkey on Sunday reported over 38,000 new infections, down from over 40,000 a day earlier, the Health Ministry said.
A total of 38,553 cases, including 2,801 symptomatic patients, were confirmed, the data showed. The country recorded less than 40,000 cases for the first time since March 31.
Turkey's overall case tally is over 4.62 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 38,358 with 347 more fatalities over the past day.
As many as 51,236 more patients won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to more than 4 million.
Over 45.88 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey thus far, with 260,280 done since Saturday.
The latest figures showed that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition rose to 3,590.
On Jan.14, Turkey began a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign, starting with healthcare workers along with top officials to encourage public confidence in the vaccines. It has so far administered over 21.16 million vaccine jabs.
More than 13.2 million people to date have received their first doses, while more than 7.9 million have been fully vaccinated.
In the face of rising cases and fatalities, special measures are in effect for the first two weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The weekday curfew now lasts from 7 p.m. (moved forward from 9 p.m.) to 5 a.m., during which inter-city travel is also banned, except in emergencies. Weekend curfews also continue in high-risk cities.
Cafes and restaurants only provide delivery and takeout services, while wedding halls, sports centers, and game halls remain closed until the end of Ramadan.
Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.1 million lives in 192 countries and regions. More than 146.6 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 84 million, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.