Turkey confirms over 1,000 new cases of COVID-19

By Faruk Zorlu and Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Friday confirmed 1,185 additional cases of COVID-19, raising the tally to 238,450, according to the country's health minister.

"The rise in the number of cases continues. The number of recoveries from the virus is less than the number of new cases, as it was yesterday," Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

The country confirmed 1,028 more recoveries from the novel coronavirus, raising the total to 221,574, according to the country's health minister.

The death toll stood at 5,813 after 15 people died over the past 24 hours.

Healthcare professionals conducted 56,726 tests for the disease over the past day, raising the tally to over 5.13 million, and the minister added that the number of tests is gradually rising.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 716,300 lives in 188 countries and regions since it originated in China last December. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.

More than 19.17 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 11.6 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.