Turkiye reports nearly 15,000 new coronavirus cases

By Gozde Bayar and Seda Sevencan

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkiye registered 14,933 new coronavirus cases on Monday.

The Health Ministry said 80 virus-related fatalities and 18,537 recoveries were recorded in the past 24 hours and 281,242 tests were done.

To counter the spread of the virus, Turkiye has administered more than 146.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

More than 57.75 million people have received a first vaccine jab, while 52.93 million have been immunized twice.

As the virus seems to be receding, Turkiye scrapped its outdoor mask mandate in early March, a longtime measure to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 6.07 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with over 471 million cases reported, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.