Erdoğan briefed by ministers on COVID-19 measures

Turkey's president was briefed by ministers via videoconference Tuesday on the fight against the novel coronavirus.

In a statement, the Communications Directorate said Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared a video clip from the meeting on Twitter.

Erdoğan is "closely following efforts by the relevant state bodies and necessary steps were being taken in coordination as part of the fight against the coronavirus," the statement added.

The president was briefed during the videoconference by Vice President Fuat Oktay, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Education Minister Ziya Selçuk, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli and Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, according to the statement.

Turkey confirmed seven more deaths from the coronavirus late Tuesday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 44.

Some 3,952 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours on people suspected of contracting the virus and 343 have tested positive, bringing the tally of infections to 1,872, Koca said on Twitter.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 169 countries and regions, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Out of more than 415,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 18,500, while nearly 108,000 have recovered.