Turkey reports 1,500-plus coronavirus cases in a day

By Havva Kara Aydin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey on Tuesday confirmed 1,502 new cases of the novel coronavirus, while the number of tests conducted exceeded 6.5 million.

On Twitter, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 887 patients recovered from COVID-19 over the past day, pushing the total count of recoveries to 238,795.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the country reached 6,163, as 24 more people lost their lives.

Health care professionals run 98,231 more tests to diagnose the disease over the last 24 hours, pushing the tally beyond 6.5 million.

Since it originated in China last December, the coronavirus has claimed around 814,500 lives in 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

Nearly 24 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries nearing 15.4 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.