The number of recoveries has increased and fatalities have dropped in Turkey, which has been battling the coronavirus pandemic. The latest figures indicate that, with the current trend, the daily death toll may drop to zero soon. Still, strict measures remain in place while some are being eased, such as a temporary exclusion from curfew for citizens age 65 and above who are in the high-risk group.
The country reported a drop in its new daily COVID-19 cases to below 1,000 on Wednesday with 972 new cases over the last 24 hours, a solid success in the fight against the outbreak, while the daily death toll rose by 23 to 4,222. The number of patients recovering from the disease increased to 113,987.
If new daily cases fall below 1,000, it means Turkey is becoming successful in its fight against the coronavirus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
The Turkish public largely adhered to preventive measures against the coronavirus, Koca told a news conference following a meeting with his ministry’s Coronavirus Science Board on Wednesday.
“The world does not yet know when the outbreak will end. But in Turkey, we have seen the results of our measures,” the minister noted. “Turkey succeeded in the first phase of the fight against the coronavirus; it will succeed in this phase as well.”
Turkey has been reporting a continued downward trajectory in COVID-19 deaths and confirmed infections in recent days.
Turkey is not facing the risk of a second wave of infections from the new coronavirus at the moment, Koca said, adding that Ankara was preparing to start what he called controlled health tourism with 31 countries as of Wednesday.
