Turkiye reports over 17,300 new coronavirus cases

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkiye registered 17,328 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.

The Health Ministry said 105 virus-related fatalities and 18,269 recoveries were recorded in the past 24 hours and as many as 295,004 virus tests were conducted.

To counter the spread of the virus, Turkiye has administered more than 146.43 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 52.92 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 468.5 million cases reported, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​