Turkey confirms over 13,000 new COVID-19 cases

Turkey on Monday reported over 13,000 daily infections from the novel coronavirus.

According to Health Ministry data, the country confirmed 13,695 new cases, including 1,508 symptomatic patients. The tally of infections exceeded 2.26 million.

At least 197 people lost their lives due to the virus, causing the death toll to climb to 21,685.

As many as 9,896 more people recovered over the past day, bringing the total to over 2.16 million.

A total of 181,323 COVID-19 tests were done across the country over the past day, pushing the overall count to 25 million.

The number of patients in critical condition dropped to 3,522, the latest figures showed.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a tweet that the number of patients in critical condition continues to drop.

"We must make the gains achieved through restrictions and measures permanent. We are strong if we act together," he said.

The country has been implementing curfews on weeknights and full weekend curfews since Dec. 5 to stem the spread of the virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.84 million lives in 191 countries and regions since it originated in China in December 2019.

Over 85.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 47.9 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.