Turkey coronavirus cases decline as frontline hospitals continue the fight against the deadly disease

Turkey has seen a decline this week in the number of daily deaths and rates of infection since it started to grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic last month.  

Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, was described by the health minister as the epicentre of infections in the country.

The government has refrained from imposing a total lockdown, fearing its negative impact on the already fragile economy.

It has opted for piecemeal measures instead, including weekend curfews and banning people above the age of 65 and below the age of 20 from leaving their homes.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced 92 deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest since April 11.

The total death toll now stands at 2,992, with 114,653 confirmed infections.

Istanbul University Cerrahpasa president, Prof. Dr Nuri Aydin, says there are about 120 patients currently being treated at his facility for coronavirus infection, a drop from last week's 230.

"This week we saw a decrease in the number of patients in terms of the wards, also in terms of the ICU (intensive care) units. I believe one of the important things in this decrease is especially the weekend lockdowns and the lockdowns over-65 and below 20 years of age," he said.

Aydin credits Turkey's medical treatments and implementation of isolation measures for the country's ability to avoid a wider crisis.

The hospital has seven floors dedicated to treating people who have tested positive for Covid-19.