UPDATE - Turkey reports over 13,800 new COVID-19 cases

UPDATES WITH VIDEOCONFERENCE OF HEALTH MINISTER WITH WHO’S REGIONAL DIRECTOR

By Havva Kara Aydin and Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Wednesday reported over 13,800 daily infections from the novel coronavirus.

The country confirmed 13,830 new cases, including 1,458 symptomatic patients, according to Health Ministry data.

With the new additions, the tally of infections topped 2.28 million, the figures showed.

A total of 191 people lost their lives to the virus over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 22,070.

As many as 8,702 more people recovered over the past day, bringing the total to over 2.16 million.

Since Tuesday, a total of 182,645 COVID-19 tests were done across the country, pushing the overall count to 25.49 million.

The number of patients in critical condition dropped to 3,303, according to the latest figures.

Noting the number of active cases is stable, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter: "The number of serious patients continues to decline."

"We will win together through caution and combat," he added, noting there has been a decrease in the number of fatalities.

- New coronavirus strain

Koca will hold a videoconference meeting with World Health Organization's Europe Director Hans Kluge on Thursday.

During the meeting, the latest developments about the course of the pandemic will be discussed, especially the new coronavirus strain and vaccination studies in the UK, according to a Health Ministry statement.

Also, he will chair the Coronavirus Scientific Board Meeting on Thursday via video link, it added.

Since last month, the country has been implementing curfews on both weeknights and weekends to stem the virus's spread.

Since it originated in China in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.87 million lives in 191 countries and regions.

Nearly 86.75 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 48.68 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.