Turkey reports downward trend in virus deaths, infections

Turkey recorded a little more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours, said the health minister on Tuesday.

The country registered 1,022 new cases, bringing the tally to 151,615 while the active cases dropped to 34.521, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing the Health Ministry data.

"There is an expected decrease in the number of new cases. The number of patients in intensive care is declining," he added.

The recoveries from the COVID-19 hit 112,895 as 1,318 more patients recovered over the past day.

"The number of healed patients is at the predicted level," Koca said.

The death toll from the outbreak rose to 4,199 as the country reported 28 new fatalities -- the lowest figure since March 29 -- over the past 24 hours.

Turkey conducted more than 25,000 tests over the past 24 hours, raising the overall number to over 1.67 million.

There are currently 882 patients under intensive care in Turkey.

Turkey has opted for partial lockdowns, contact tracing and early treatment in combating the novel coronavirus. Fifteen provinces, including Istanbul, are in the final day of a four-day lockdown.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday he hoped the upcoming nationwide lockdown during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr from May 23-26 would be the final round.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Russia, Brazil, and several European countries are currently the hardest-hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed over 319,200 worldwide, with more than 4.83 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.8 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.