Delta Plus variant found in three cities of Turkey, says minister

Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

Turkey has found cases of the new Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus in three cities, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca has said.

"The Delta Plus [variant] was seen in three people in three separate provinces, including one in İstanbul. It's not found in Ankara. Let me not say the other two provinces," he wrote on Twitter, adding that the infected people were in good condition.

Also, some 284 cases of Delta variant have been identified across 30 provinces, according to the minister.

CLICK - TTB warns against Delta variant: 'It might have serious consequences'

He also announced the latest weekly infection rates for COVID-19 across the country's 81 provinces.

Sharing the data for June 26 to July 2, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter: "The end of the pandemic comes with a vaccine. Get your vaccine to look at tomorrow more confidently than today."

The number of cases per 100,000 people was 54.6 in the metropolis of İstanbul, which is home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey's population, 71.9 in the capital Ankara, and 23.5 in the Aegean province of İzmir.

The southern provinces of Osmaniye, Adiyaman, and Hatay had the lowest COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people.

The country has so far administered over 54.4 million doses since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to the Health Ministry.

More than 36.5 million people have received their first doses, while over 16 million have been fully vaccinated.

Amid a nationwide fall in virus cases and an expedited inoculation drive, Turkey has entered a new normalization phase, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions. (TP/VK)