Turkey records decline in virus death toll, ICU patients

By Dilara Hamit and Fahri Aksut

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has continued to report declines in the death toll and number of patients at intensive care units, while the country's registered recoveries reached 82,984 on Thursday.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said soon the number of tests in the country will reach 1.5 million, adding that the number of coronavirus cases, compared to Wednesday, has dropped as well.

The death toll from the pandemic rose to 3,641 as Turkey saw 57 more deaths, while 4,782 recovered in the past 24 hours, Koca said on Twitter.

The country recorded 1,977 new cases, bringing the tally to 133,721, he noted, citing Health Ministry data.

Also, over 30,395 additional tests have been conducted over the last 24 hours, and the total number of tests so far surpassed 1.26 million, added the minister.

Over 3.78 million cases have been reported in 187 countries since the virus emerged in China last December, with the hardest-hit areas being the US and Europe.

A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients -- over 1.25 million -- have recovered, but the disease has claimed nearly 265,000 lives, according to data compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.