A total of 1,356 more people have been infected with COVID-19, while 15 others have died from the disease over the past 24 hours, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Sunday.
According to a chart posted by Koca on Twitter, the total number of cases in the country has risen to 197,239, while the death toll has reached 5,097 with the latest additions.
Over the past several days the number of new infections has been fluctuating, although it was on an upward trajectory after an easing of anti-coronavirus measures by the Turkish government as of June 1.
“The number of people who tested positive [for COVID-19] is 16 fewer than yesterday [Saturday] and 40 fewer than the day before that. The number of recovered patients today is 571 fewer than it was yesterday. We are not quick enough to reduce the number of new cases nor do we fully observe the [anti-corona] measures. The summer should not lead to slackness,” tweeted the minister.
The chart indicated that 1,413 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours.
Turkey conducted 48,309 tests for the coronavirus over the past day, bringing the overall number of tests carried out so far to 3,280,144.
The chart showed that 170,595 people have recovered in Turkey since the start of the outbreak, while 996 patients are in intensive care, 381 of whom are on ventilators.
Turkey reported its first COVID-19 case on March 11. The country eased preventative measures at the start of June, opening shopping malls, cafes, restaurants and mosques.