Turkey coronavirus death toll drops to lowest since end of March

Turkey has seen a steady drop in the number of new deaths from Covid-19, now dipping to the lowest since the end of March.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

17 May, 2020

Over 4.6 million coronavirus cases have been recorded globally [Anadolu Agency]

Turkey has recorded its lowest number of new coronavirus deaths in a day since the end of March, the latest figures released by the Turkish health ministry revealed on Saturday.

The ministry said 41 more people have died from coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours, bringing the nation's total death toll to 4,096.

According to Reuters, the death rate is the lowest recorded in the country since the end of March.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also tweeted on Saturday that 1,610 new infections were confirmed, which adds up to a total of 148,067 cases in the country, which has a population of 82 million. Over 108,000 people have recovered, according to statistics reviewed by Reuters.

"You have the right to come out and take a breath. Today, between the hours of 12:00 and 18:00 the streets are yours. To protect yourself, do not forget to wear mask and follow the 1.5 meter social distance rule," Koca said on Sunday.

Fifteen provinces, including Istanbul, are on a four-day lockdown which came into effect on Friday. Turkey has instituted partial lockdowns to combat the novel coronavirus.
Older adults above 65, as well as those aged 20 and under were not allowed to leave their homes until recently.

Read more: Children leave homes for first time in 40 days as Turkey eases restrictions

Turkey has also eased other measures, including the opening of shopping centres and hair salons.

Also on Saturday, Turkey's Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told Turkish news channel NTV he hoped for domestic tourism to resume after May 28, if Covid-19 cases continue to drop.

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