UPDATE - Turkey reports over 7,400 new coronavirus infections

UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY TURKISH HEALTH MINISTER

By Sena Guler and Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Wednesday reported 7,489 additional coronavirus cases, including 675 symptomatic patients, according to the Health Ministry.

The country's case tally passed 2.44 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 25,476 with 132 fatalities over the past day.

As many as 8,803 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 2.33 million.

More than 29 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey to date, with 179,419 since Tuesday.

The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition dropped to 1,765.

In a news statement shared on Twitter, Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that with the measures taken against the coronavirus, the country has achieved a rapid drop of up to %80 in the number of cases.

He added: “Considering the increasing risk situation in the world, it is obvious that we must continue to strictly comply with the measures,” warning that uncontrolled loosening of measures against the virus can cause fluctuations that is more difficult to overcome.

Koca also announced that over the suggestion of Turkey’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, older adults above the age of 75 will start to be vaccinated in health institutions as of Thursday morning.

He also said: “We must keep in mind that the virus spread from one person to the whole world. We gave a tough fight during the pandemic and our entire nation got very tired. It is obvious that we are very close to getting the reward for these efforts.”

Turkey began a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Jan. 14, starting with healthcare workers along with top officials to encourage public confidence in the vaccines.

Since early December, Turkey has also been implementing curfews on nights and weekends to curb the spread of the virus.

The pandemic has so far claimed more than 2.16 million lives in 192 countries and regions since it emerged in December 2019, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University. More than 100 million cases and over 55.62 million recoveries have been reported worldwide.