Turkey: Daily COVID-19 recoveries outnumber new infections

By Fahri Aksut and Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Daily recoveries in Turkey from the novel coronavirus once again on Thursday exceeded new cases, said the country's health minister.

A total of 1,472 people beat COVID-19 over the past day, bringing the overall count to 165,706 Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing Health Ministry data.

The country's death toll from the virus rose to 5,046, as it reported 21 new fatalities in the past 24 hours.

Some 941 patients remain in intensive care, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Health care professionals conducted 52,303 tests for the disease in the past day, raising the total count to over 3.13 million.

According to test results, the total number of COVID-19 cases nationwide reached 193,115 with nearly 1,458 new infections.

"There is an increase in our number of intensive care patients. However, the duration our patients spend in intensive care and under treatment has come down considerably," he said in a tweet.

"The number of new cases shows that precautions are decreasing. The number of cases in the world is on the rise. Let's give some good news from Turkey," Koca added.

Koca has repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining social distance and the use of face masks, and has advised extra care during the summer season.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, and Russia are currently the countries hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed over 484,100 people worldwide, with nearly 9.5 million confirmed cases and more than 4.78 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.