Turkey reports over virus 1,000 more recoveries

Over 1,000 more patients in Turkey recovered from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the country's health minister announced.

Citing Health Ministry data, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 1,013 more patients regained health, pushing the total recoveries to 251,105.

Some 1,578 new virus cases were also registered, taking the caseload to 279,806.

The virus-linked death toll in the country, meanwhile, rose to 6,673 as 53 more people succumbed to the disease.

The highest weekly increase in the number of virus infections was seen in Van, Karaman, Erzincan, Cankiri and Kayseri provinces, according to Koca.

A total of 96,842 diagnostic tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, taking the total to over 7.77 million.

The number of patients in critical condition stands at 1,102.

The virus has claimed over 880,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since last December, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Nearly 27 million infections have been reported worldwide, with recoveries nearing 18 million.

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