Turkey's COVID-19 death toll climbs to 3,174: Minister

By Ali Murat Alhas and Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - The death toll from the novel coronavirus has climbed to 3,174 as Turkey registered 93 more deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the health minister.

According to a chart Minister Fahrettin Koca shared on Twitter, Turkey registered 2,615 new cases, bringing the tally to over 120,000.

On the bright side, a total of 4,846 people fully recovered from the disease, and the total number of recoveries reached nearly 49,000 as of Thursday.

Aware of the importance of coronavirus testing, Turkish authorities continued to conduct more tests on a daily basis.

In the last 24 hours, over 42,000 additional tests have been conducted, and the total number of tests exceeded 1 million.

The rise of coronavirus cases stood at a predictable rate and the number of patients in need of intensive care declined, Koca added, and he called on people to remain committed to the measures adopted by the authorities.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed nearly 229,000 people worldwide, with more than 3.22 million infections, while over 993,000 patients have recovered, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.