Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Monday that Turkey now has 1,529 confirmed cases of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, and that the death toll has reached 37.
“In the last 24 hours, we received 3,672 test results. 293 new [coronavirus] diagnoses were made. Despite all efforts, 7 of our people lost the battle against the disease,” Koca tweeted.
The minister also warned young people to stay at home, saying: “Slow down your life. Don’t take risks. Don’t bring the risk with you to your homes.”
The first case of coronavirus in Turkey was confirmed by the minister on March 11.
Experts say the exponential increase in the number of cases poses a great danger to the Turkish public.
First seen in the Chinese city of Wuhan, COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, infecting nearly 370,000 people worldwide and killing more than 16,000.