Turkey reports over 6,700 more COVID-19 patients

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey registered 6,713 more coronavirus patients over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released Monday.

The new patients raised the overall count to 453,535.

As many as 3,254 patients also recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to 377,891, while the death toll rose by 153 to reach 12,511.

More than 161,000 COVID-19 tests were done across the country, bringing the total to over 17.4 million.

The number of patients in critical condition now stands at 4,409.

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged everyone to follow safety measures and not enter crowded areas unless necessary.

"Support continuing to bring the spread of the pandemic under control until a vaccine is available," he added.

Starting this week, Turkey imposed a partial weekend curfew from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. local time.

The pandemic has claimed more than 1.39 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.

While the US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases, Europe is in the grip of a devastating second wave of infections.