COVID-19 under control in Turkey, says health minister

Turkish health minister said on Wednesday that coronavirus epidemic in Turkey is under control and added that as long as measures are followed he does not expect a new wave of infection in the country.

Turkey confirmed 117 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 2,376.

The total number of registered coronavirus reached 98,674, as 3,083 more people tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at a news conference following Coronavirus Science Board meeting.

So far, a total of 16,477 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, with 1,559 discharged on Tuesday alone, the minister added.

A total of 37,535 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, with the total reaching 750,944.

"As long as measures are followed, we do not expect a new wave of COVID-19 in Turkey," he said, adding that with 2.3%, Turkey is among countries with the lowest death rates compared to number of positive cases.

The rate of intubated coronavirus patients dropped from X to  in the country, he noted, stressing that this shows Turkey's success in the treatment of the disease.

"The gradual transition to the normalization process during and after the Eid-al-Fitr [the celebration after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan] depends on the strict implementation of the announced measures," he added.

Slamming the New York Times’ claims on the number of death toll from COVID-19 in Istanbul, Koca said: "The story was built on hostility to Turkey. We have given all the information transparently to the WHO [World Health Organization], as it wants, and we continue to do so."

Koca also said the numbers of deaths from the virus continue to rise across the world, but in Turkey the situation is stable.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 182,000 people, with total infections exceeding 2.61 million, while more than 706,600 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.