Turkey reports over 11,700 new coronavirus infections

By Gozde Bayar and Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Saturday reported 11,770 new coronavirus cases, including 702 symptomatic patients, according to the Health Ministry.

The total number of cases in the country passed 2.76 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 28,965, with 64 fatalities over the past day.

As many as 7,291 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 2.61 million.

More than 33.99 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey to date, with 138,592 since Friday.

The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition stands at 1,230.

On Jan. 14, Turkey began a mass COVID-vaccination campaign, starting with healthcare workers along with top officials to encourage public confidence in the vaccines.

Turkey started to gradually normalize its coronavirus restrictions as of March 1.

The pandemic has claimed over 2.58 million lives in 192 countries and regions since it originated in China in December 2019.

Over 116.21 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries surpassing 65.71 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

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