Turkey: Test numbers up, virus cases stay low

By Seda Sevencan and Firdevs Bulut

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Saturday confirmed 1,186 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 155,686, continuing the trend of low case numbers in recent days, according to Health Ministry data posted on Twitter.

Recoveries from the disease hit 117,602 as 1,491 more patients were discharged from hospitals over the past day, said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

The death toll from the outbreak rose to 4,308 as the country reported 32 new fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to ministry data.

Healthcare professionals did over 40,000 new tests, raising the overall number to over 1.80 million. There are currently 775 patients in intensive care, the data showed.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

The US, Russia, Brazil, and several European countries are currently the hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed more than 339,000 people worldwide, with more than 5.25 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have topped 2.08 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.