Turkey: COVID-19 infections on rise across whole country

By Havva Kara Aydin

BURSA, Turkey (AA) - The novel coronavirus cases are once again on the rise across Turkey, said the country's health minister on Friday.

Speaking at a news conference during his visit to Turkey’s western Bursa province, he stressed that the number of COVID-19 infections has been climbing again across the country.

Koca said he is planning for a visit to Turkey’s metropolitan city of Istanbul where 40% of overall infections in the country have been recorded.

Bursa province has also been through a critical condition, the minister added.

“Compared to mid-September, the number of daily cases [in Bursa] rose approximately threefold," he said.

The country's overall coronavirus patient count now stands at 355,528, according to the Health Ministry data.

On Wednesday, 2,013 new coronavirus patients were reported in the country, while 1,581 additional recoveries raised the tally to 310,027.

More than 41.73 million people have tested positive for the pandemic globally, while over 1.13 million died, and recoveries exceeded 28.36 million, according to Johns Hopkins University’s running tally.

The US, India, and Brazil are currently the worst-hit countries.