Turkey's Coronavirus Death Toll Up by 15 to 59 as Total Cases Reach 2,433

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Turkey's coronavirus tally has increased to 2,433 cases and 59 deaths, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced today (March 25).

In the last 24 hours, 5,035 people were tested for coronavirus and 561 of them were found to be infected, the minister said in a tweet. 

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

26 patients recovered

At least 26 Covid-19 patients, including two above 60 years old, have recovered and been discharged from hospitals in Turkey, Minister Koca told a press briefing earlier.

"Both elder patients were successfully treated in intensive care units," he said after a meeting of the the ministry's science council, adding that one of the patients was 60 years old and the other 65.

Koca said the virus also infected many middle-aged people around the world as well. "The number of middle-aged patients is not small. The virus does not distinguish between the young, old and the middle-aged," said Koca, urging all citizens to stay at home.

Koca stressed that Turkey was in a better position due to its timely response since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

Updates will be shared on the ministry's website

Koca also said that detailed information on the outbreak in Turkey, including the number of cases, provinces where the cases found and the nuber of recovered patients will soon be shared on the ministry's website. So far, the miniser has been sharing the number of positive test results and died patients on his Twitter account daily. Occupational organizations have been calling on the ministry to be more transparent since the situation became severe in the country.

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 17 thousand. World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a pandemic on March 11.

(EKN/VK)