Turkey: Death toll from coronavirus rises to 425

By Firdevs Bulut

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey confirmed Friday that 69 more people died from the coronavirus in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 425.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 20,921 as 2,786 more people tested positive for the virus in a day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced in a press conference.

So far, a total of 484 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, while 1,251 patients are currently under intensive care units, Koca added.

Also, more than 16,160 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, and the number of overall tests carried out so far reached 140,716.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to at least 181 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The pandemic has killed more than 55,700 people, and infected over 1 million (nearly 1,057,000) globally, while above 221,500 people recovered from the disease, according to figures collated by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.