Turkey registers 1,538 new COVID-19 cases

Turkish health authorities on Saturday reported 1,538 more coronavirus cases and 1,312 recoveries in the past 24 hours.

The country's tally of COVID-19 infections rose to 301,348, including 266,117 recoveries, according to the data released by the Health Ministry.

With the demise of 68 patients, the total count of fatalities rose to 7,445.

In addition, over 97,000 additional coronavirus tests were conducted by health professionals over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests to 9,173,694.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that the number of patients in critical condition rose to 1,432, adding health staff across the country worked hard to heal these patients.

Koca urged the Turkish community to remain committed to coronavirus measures and strictly follow them in an effort to reduce the tally of patients in critical condition.

Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed over 953,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since last December. The US, India, Brazil, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

More than 30.56 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 20.82 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.