Istanbul continues to lead in new COVID-19 cases

Istanbul continues to be Turkey's most severely coronavirus-affected province, as the metropolis registered 359.99 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people last week. It was followed by the Black Sea province of Kastamonu with 340.08 cases per 100,000 people and the northwestern province of Tekirdağ with a rate of 318.48.

Duvar English

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on May 10 announced the latest weekly infection rates for COVID-19 across the country's 81 provinces.

Sharing the data for May 1-7 on Twitter, Koca wrote: “Our determination will continue to lower the case numbers.”

The data showed that the metropolis of Istanbul had the highest infection rate at 359.99 cases per 100,000 people. Istanbul was followed by the Black Sea province of Kastamonu with 340.08 cases per 100,000 people and the northwestern province of Tekirdağ with a rate of 318.48.

The southeastern province of Şırnak, the Mediterranean province of Adana and the southeastern provinces of Mardin and Şanlıurfa saw the lowest increase in new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population last week, registering a rate of respectively 36.08, 61.41, 62.36, and 66,89.

Turkey COVID-19 weekly infection rate
This map shows weekly COVID-19 infection rates for Turkey's 81 provinces. 

Meanwhile, Turkey on May 10 registered 13,604 new COVID-19 cases and 282 fatalities from the virus, according to the Health Ministry data. 

Two weeks ago, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced what he called a "full lockdown" until May 17 to curb a surge in infections and deaths after the country eased restrictions in early March.

Since then, the country has seen a decrease in the number of daily virus cases.