Coronavirus: Turkey's Death Toll Climbs to 44, Total Cases Reach 1,872

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Seven more people have died of Covid-19, bringing Turkey's death toll to 44, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced.

All the seven deceased people were elderly and one was a COPD patient, he said in a tweet.

The minister also stated that 3,952 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours and 343 people tested positive. The number Covid-19 patients has reached 1,872 as a total of 23,972 people have been tested for the virus so far.

Turkey confirmed its first case on March 11 and its first death on March 17.

Drugs imported from China distributed throughut Turkey

Novel coronavirus drugs from China were delivered to 40 cities across Turkey via air ambulance to be used for patients in intensive care units, Minister Koca said earlier in the day.

"The drugs, which reached the [capital] Ankara late at night, were distributed to 40 cities via air ambulances. The new drugs will be used by Covid-19 patients being treated in intensive care units," he said in a written statement.

The novel coronavirus outbreak began in China's Wuhan city in December and has so far affected more than 160 countries and territories around the world, according to data compiled by Washington University in the US. It infected nearly 380 thousand people and killed more than 16 thousand. World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a pandemic on March 11.

(EKN/VK)