Turkey: 2,000+ more recover from virus, active cases drop

ANKARA

The total number of recoveries from coronavirus in Turkey rose to 108,137, with active cases dropping to 35,834, the country’s health minister said on Saturday.

The death toll from the pandemic rose to 4,096 as the country reported 41 new fatalities over the past 24 hours, Fahrettin Koca said, citing the Health Ministry data.

The number of patients in intensive care and the proportion of fatalities in intensive care patients is decreasing, Koca said, stressing that there is a predictable slowdown in the recovery rate.

The country also registered 1,610 new cases, bringing the tally to 148,067.

As many as 42,236 tests were conducted in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests to over 1.58 million, Koca said.

There are currently 906 patients in Turkey's intensive care units.

"Since first appearing China last December, the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease has spread to at least 188 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas.

The pandemic has killed over 309,000 worldwide, with more than 4.58 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.65 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.