Turkey reports 1,581 new coronavirus patients

By Dilara Hamit and Handan Kazanci

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey reported 1,581 more patients of the novel coronavirus and 1,355 new recoveries over the past 24 hours, the country's Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The overall patient count now stands at 329,138, with recoveries totaling 288,954, according to ministry data.

Some 116,608 more COVID-19 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, bringing the overall tally to over 11.16 million.

The death toll from the virus reached 8,609, with 56 more fatalities.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Twitter said there was a downward trend in the number of patients in critical condition, adding that this number could be reduced with early treatment.

The figures also showed that the number of patients in critical condition currently stands at 1,411, while 6.2% suffer from pneumonia this week.

Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed more than 1.05 million lives in 188 countries and regions since last December.

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

Over 35.94 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries surpassing 25 million, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.