Turkey's total recoveries from pandemic near 110,000

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur and Havva Kara Aydin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's total number of recoveries from COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday hit 109,962 as 1,825 more patients recovered, while the active cases dropped to 35,333, said the country's health minister.

The death toll from the pandemic rose to 4,140 as the country reported 44 new fatalities over the past 24 hours, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing the ministry data.

“The recent number of cases dropped at an expected level. Some data showed ordinary variations in the overall course,” he said, stressing the importance of staying at home in fighting the virus.

The country also registered 1,368 new cases, bringing the tally to 149,435.

As many as 35,369 tests were conducted in the country over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of tests to over 1.62 million, according to the ministry data.

There are currently 914 patients in Turkey's intensive care units.

Since first appearing China last December, the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease has spread to at least 188 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas.

The pandemic has killed over 312,300 worldwide, with more than 4.66 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.71 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.