Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises by 24, with 1,212 new cases

Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 24 as the country registered 1,212 new cases on June 22. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca once again urged citizens to abide by measures, saying: "We must bring down the number of cases through the measures we take."

Monday June 22 2020 09:03 pm

Duvar English

Turkey’s death toll from the novel coronavirus rose by 24 to total 4,974 and new confirmed cases rose by 1,212 to bring the country’s total to 188,897, Health Ministry data showed on June 22.

“The number of patients recovering today tops the number of new cases. But the difference is not enough for our struggle. We must bring down the number of cases through the measures we take,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter.

İzmir'de 28, Kocaeli'de 20, Sakarya'da 3 vakamız yoğun bakımda. Toplam test sayımız 3 milyona yaklaştı. Bugün iyileşen hasta sayımız yeni vaka sayımızın üstünde. Fakat mücadelemiz için aradaki fark yeterli değil. Vaka sayımızı tedbirlerle azaltmalıyız. https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/ir6LJ7o1An
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) June 22, 2020

Turkey has recently seen an upward trend in the daily number of virus infections after the government authorized cafes, restaurants, gyms, parks, beaches and museums to reopen, lifted inter-city travel restrictions and eased stay-at-home orders for the elderly and young on June 1.

The daily number of cases climbed to around 1,500 last week after hovering around 800-900 previously. After this spike in infection figures, authorities made the wearing of masks compulsory in several more provinces, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) said last week that the fight against the virus cannot be managed solely based on personal measures and stressed the need for "precautions which will decrease the social mobility."