By Dilara Hamit and Erdogan Cagatay Zontur
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey has now done over 3 million coronavirus tests since the outbreak began, the country’s health minister announced Tuesday.
A total of 1,315 more people won their battle against COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally of recoveries to 162,848, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing Health Ministry data.
Koca said the number of recovered patients was greater than the number of new cases.
Turkey reported 27 new COVID-19 fatalities over the past day, bringing the total death toll to 5,001, the data showed.
The country's healthcare workers did 42,982 tests for the virus in the past 24 hours, raising the total count to more than 3 million.
According to test results, the total number of coronavirus cases nationwide to date reached 190,165, with new 1,268 infections reported.
A total of 893 patients remain in intensive care units across the country.
Koca has repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining social distance, wearing masks, and washing hands.
Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.
The US, Brazil, and Russia are currently the countries hardest hit in the world.
The pandemic has killed nearly 473,000 people worldwide, with over 9.15 million confirmed cases and over 4.57 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.
