Turkiye reports over 94,000 new COVID-19 cases

By Ali Murat Alhas and Seda Sevencan

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) – The Turkish Health Ministry reported more than 94,000 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday.

According to a chart shared by the ministry, 271 people lost their lives and 104,409 others recovered from the disease.

Also, as many as 463,241 virus tests have been conducted nationwide in the past 24 hours.

To counter the spread of the virus, Turkiye has administered over 144.47 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

More than 57.59 million people have received the first jab, while more than 52.67 million are fully vaccinated. Third booster shots have also been given to more than 26.45 million people.

Pointing to a significant drop in the death toll, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the omicron variant led to death especially among the elderly and patients with chronic illness.

“Bringing down the number of deaths depends on protecting this group, which lacks the power to fight an additional disease,” he said.

Since December 2019, the virus has claimed over 5.84 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 416.40 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.