Recoveries from virus pass one-third of cases in Turkey

The number of recoveries from the novel coronavirus has exceeded 44,000 in Turkey, surpassing one-third of the total case tally, the country's health minister said on Wednesday.

A total of 5,231 patients were discharged from medical care after recovering from the virus in the last 24 hours alone, making a total of 44,022 patients discharged, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Koca also confirmed 89 additional fatalities from the virus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 3,081, citing Health Ministry data.

The total number of registered coronavirus cases rose to 117,589, as 2,936 more people tested positive for the virus.

Intensive care patient numbers continued to drop, with the number of new cases as predicted, according to Koca.

A total of 43,498 tests for the virus were conducted over the past 24 hours, with the total reaching 991,613, according to the data.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the 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 more than 218,700 people, with total infections exceeding 3.14 million, while nearly 950,000 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.