Turkey reports 1,203 new COVID-19 infections

Turkey confirmed 1,203 new cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, bringing the tally to date to 255,723.

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 772 more patients recovered in the past 24 hours, pushing the number of recoveries to 235,569.

Meanwhile, the death toll reached 6,080 as 22 more people lost their lives.

Healthcare professionals did 92,227 tests to diagnose the virus over the last 24 hours, bringing the tally to more than 6.15 million.

The number of new patients is lower than yesterday, Koca pointed out.

"The number of recovered patients is less than new patients. The increase in the number of patients in severe condition continues," he added.

Only treating patients is not a successful way to fight a pandemic, he said, stressing preventing the virus' transmission is key.

"The great fight against a pandemic can be done only with measures. Let's take measures to defeat the coronavirus," he said.

Social distancing, maintaining hygiene, and wearing masks are among the top measures officials have stressed.

Since it originated in China last December, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 795,000 lives in 188 countries and regions.

The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

Over 22.77 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries at nearly 14.6 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.