Turkey: Daily virus tests at 93,000+, 1,309 more cases

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey confirmed 1,309 new cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday, bringing the tally to 257,032.

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 801 more patients recovered in the past 24 hours, pushing the number of recoveries to 236,370.

Meanwhile, the death toll reached 6,102 as 22 more people lost their lives.

Healthcare professionals conducted 93,007 tests to diagnose the virus over the last 24 hours, bringing the tally to more than 6.24 million.

The number of fresh cases has surpassed recovered for a long time now, Koca stressed.

Since it originated in China last December, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 800,000 lives in 188 countries and regions.

The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

More than 23 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 14.7 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.