Turkey: Active coronavirus cases fall to 30,000

By Seda Sevencan and Firdevs Bulut

ANKARA (AA) - Active coronavirus cases in Turkey fell to 30,000 in the past 24 hours, said the health minister on Monday.

The number of patients who recovered from COVID-19 in Turkey reached almost 128,947 as 974 more were discharged from hospitals over the past day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, reporting the latest official figures.

Turkey reported a total of 827 new cases, bringing the infection tally to 164,769, Koca added.

The death toll from the pandemic rose to 4,563 as the country reported 23 new fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data.

A total of 651 patients are being treated in intensive care due to COVID-19, the figures showed.

Koca reiterated the importance of people keeping their hands clean, wearing masks, and maintaining social distance.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

The US, Brazil, Russia, and several European countries are currently the hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed over 373,000 people worldwide, with almost 6.2 million confirmed cases, with some 2.66 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.