Turkey Reports 1,114 New Covid-19 Cases, Ministry Adviser Warns Epidemic Not Over

People queue up in a shopping mall after reopening. (Photo: AA)

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The Health Ministry today (May 11) reported 55 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total tally to 3,841. The total cases in the country climbed to 139,771 with 1,114 cases over the past 24 hours.

Total recoveries topped 95,000 as 3,089 people were discharged from treatment in a day.

The total number of coronavirus tests exceeded 1,4 million while 32,722 tests were conducted since yesterday's update. The number of tests does not reflect the number of tested people as patients may be repeatedly tested during the course of their treatment.

The number of intensive care patients stand at 1,126 and 578 patients are on ventilators.

"Social distance is the new normal"

Although Turkey has eased some measures amid the decrease in the number of new cases, the coronavirus outbreak is not over yet, said a member of the Health Ministry's Science Committee.

Speaking about Turkey's steps to ease lockdown,Dr. Selma Metintaş said people have to maintain social distance.

"Everywhere we go, we have to continue observing social distance. Social distance is the new normal. Even though malls will reopen, we shouldn't allow dense crowds, and be in them. We need to wash hands frequently, that is also our new normal," she said.

Barbers, coiffeurs, and shopping malls opened in the country today.

Reiterating the importance of using face masks, the doctor said we can use cloth masks in our daily lives, but if we are going to a hospital, or will be in contact with someone with Covid-19, we should use medical masks.

Carrying disinfectants, colognes, and refraining from touching our face should also be our daily routine from now on, she added.

"If case numbers continuously drop for at least 14 days, while the number of tests are increasing, that means we can ease daily life restrictions and continue normalization. But this does not mean going back to life before Covid-19. Until a vaccine is found, measures will always continue on different scales," Metintaş added.

More than 4.1 million cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since the virus emerged in China last December. The US and Europe are the world's hardest-hit areas.

Daily cases and deaths

11 March: 1 case
13 March: 3 cases
14 March: 6 cases
15 March: 18 cases
16 March: 29 cases
17 March: 51 cases, 1 death
18 March: 93 cases, 1 death
19 March: 168 cases, 2 deaths (1.981 tests)
20 March: 311 cases, 5 deaths (3.656 tests)
21 March: 277 cases, 12 deaths (2.953 tests)
22 March: 289 cases, 9 deaths
23 March: 293 cases, 7 deaths (3.672 tests)
24 March: 343 cases, 7 deaths (3.952 tests)
25 March: 561 cases, 15 deaths (5.035 tests)
26 March: 1196 cases, 16 deaths (7.286 tests)
27 March: 2069 cases, 17 deaths (7.533 tests)
28 March: 1704 cases, 16 deaths (7.641 tests)
29 March: 1815 cases, 23 deaths (9.982 tests)
30 March: 1610 cases, 37 deaths (11.535 tests)
31 March: 2704 cases, 46 deaths (15.422 tests)

1 April: 2148 cases, 63 deaths (14.396 tests)
2 April: 2456 cases, 79 deaths (18.757 tests)
3 April: 2786 cases, 69 deaths (16.160 tests)
4 April: 3012 cases, 76 deaths (19.664 tests)
5 April: 3015 cases, 73 deaths (20.065 tests)
6 April: 3148 cases, 75 deaths (21.400 tests)
7 April: 3892 cases, 76 deaths (20.023 tests)
8 April: 4117 cases, 87 deaths (24.900 tests)
9 April: 4056 cases, 96 deaths (28.578 tests)
10 April: 4747 cases, 98 deaths (30.864 tests)
11 April: 5138 cases, 95 deaths (33.170 tests)
12 April: 4789 cases, 97 deaths (35.720 tests)
13 April: 4093 cases, 98 deaths (34.456 tests)
14 April: 4062 cases, 107 deaths (33.070 tests)
15 April: 4281 cases, 115 deaths (34.090 tests)
16 April: 4801 cases, 125 deaths (40.427 tests)
17 April: 4353 cases, 126 deaths (40.270 tests)
18 April: 3783 cases, 121 deaths (40.520 tests)
19 April: 3977 cases, 127 deaths (35.344 tests)
20 April: 4674 cases, 123 deaths (39.703 tests)
21 April: 4611 cases, 119 deaths (39.429 tests)
22 April: 3083 cases, 117 deaths (37.535 tests)
23 April: 3116 cases, 115 deaths (40.962 tests)
24 April: 3122 cases, 109 deaths (38.351 tests)
25 April: 2861 cases, 106 deaths (38.308 tests)
26 April: 2357 cases, 99 deaths (30.177 tests)
27 April: 2131 cases, 95 deaths (20.143 tests)
28 April: 2392 cases, 92 deaths (29.230 tests)
29 April: 2936 cases, 89 deaths (43.498 tests)
30 April: 2615 cases, 93 deaths (42.004 tests)

1 May: 2188 cases, 84 deaths (41.431 tests)
2 May: 1983 cases, deaths (36,318 tests)
3 May: 1670 cases, 64 deaths (24,01 tests)
4 May: 1614 cases, 64 deaths (35.771 tests)
5 May: 1832 cases, 59 deaths (33.283 tests)
6 May: 2253 cases, 64 deaths (30.303 tests)
7 May: 1977 cases, 57 deaths (30.395 tests)
8 May: 1848 cases, 48 deaths (33.687 tests)
9 May: 1546 cases, 50 deaths (35.605 tests)
10 May: 1542 cases, 47 deaths (36.187 tests)
11 May: 1114 cases, 55 deaths (32.722 tests)

(EKN/VK)

Turkey Reports 1,114 New Covid-19 Cases, Ministry Adviser Warns Epidemic Not Over

İstanbul

"Social distance is the new normal"