Turkiye reports over 1,700 new coronavirus cases

ANKARA (AA) - Turkiye registered 1,772 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, according to official data released on Saturday.

The Health Ministry said 11 virus-related fatalities and 3,147 recoveries were also recorded over the past 24 hours. As many as 119,264 tests were also conducted.

To stem the spread of the virus, Turkiye has administered nearly 147.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

Over 57.81 million people have received the first jab, while more than 53.03 million are fully vaccinated.

On Friday, COVID-19-related fatalities in Turkiye fell to single digits, the first time the figure has been that low in over two years, the country’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Nine people lost their lives to coronavirus on Friday, Koca said on Twitter.

The last time coronavirus fatalities were as low on March 24, 2020, the earliest days of the pandemic.

On Tuesday, Turkiye lifted its longtime indoor mask mandate, except in public transport and hospitals.

Meanwhile, the global case tally topped 513.2 million, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 6.23 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions.