Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises by 58 to 3,952, with new 1,639 cases

Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 58 to total 3,952 and new confirmed cases rose by 1,639 to bring the country’s total to 143,114, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on May 13. Koca also said that the coronavirus pandemic is now "under control" in Turkey.

Wednesday May 13 2020 07:04 pm

Duvar English

Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 58 to total 3,952 and new confirmed cases rose by 1,639 to bring the country’s total to 143,114, Health Ministry data showed on May 13.

Some 33,332 tests were conducted in the country over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests to nearly 1.48 million, the data showed.

The number of patients under intensive care has fell below 1,000 in Turkey for the first time, while over 100,000 patients have so far recovered.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca stressed the importance of social distancing and using masks in a Twitter post. He also urged the public to continue avoiding crowded places, even as measures to fight the virus’ spread are gradually relaxed.

YOĞUN BAKIMDAKİ HASTA SAYIMIZ İLK KEZ 1.000’in altına düştü. İyileşen hasta sayımız 100.000’i aştı. Toplam test sayımız yaklaşık 1,5 milyon. Virüse karşı asıl gücümüz:
Maske + 1,5 Metre Sosyal Mesafe. Risk, en çok kalabalık ortamlarda. Uzak duralım. https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/8Ywihrmq5V
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) May 13, 2020

Earlier on May 13, Koca held a press meeting saying that Turkey has registered a constant recovery in week five since the first COVID-19 case was reported and the pandemic is now "under control."

"We have been in a steady recovery since week five of outbreak. Under current conditions, the pandemic is under control," Koca said following a virtual meeting of Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board.

"Although our daily test capacity [for COVID-19] has reached 50,000, there is no need for such an amount due to the decline in new cases," Koca said.