The accuracy rate of COVID-19 testing kits used in Turkey is over 90%, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Wednesday.
Speaking in a news conference following a meeting of the country’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Koca said the number of new cases dropped 15% in the 10 days after Ramadan Bayram, or Eid al-Fitr, due to strict restrictions in place.
“We need to make use of the time well and pass the second wave of the virus that the world is anticipating,” he said, stressing that the risk continues.
He said Turkey may develop a vaccine in the first quarter of the next year.
“Turkey is in contact with China and Russia on a COVID-19 vaccine and is closely following the developments and cooperations.”
Turkey has so far reported 227,982 coronavirus cases, 211,561 recoveries and 5,645 fatalities.
The global pandemic has claimed over 661,300 lives in 188 countries and regions since it originated in Wuhan, China, last December.
The U.S., Brazil, Russia and India are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.
More than 16.78 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 9.79 million, shows U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University’s data.
