Turkey reports over 28,000 new virus cases

As many as 28,731 infections, including 1,210 symptomatic patients, were confirmed in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

With 157 new related fatalities, the nationwide COVID-19 death toll has reached 30,619.

As many as 19,186 more patients won the battle against the disease, bringing the number of recoveries to over 2.9 million.

More than 37.21 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey to date, with 222,753 done since Wednesday.

The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition is 1,790.

Turkey began a mass COVID-vaccination campaign in early January. According to official figures, it has administered over 14.39 million coronavirus vaccine jabs across the country.

Over 8.18 million people to date have received their first doses, while second doses have been given to over 6.2 million.

On March 1, Turkey started easing weekend curfews while continuing weeknight curfews to stem the virus' spread. It also allowed more face-to-face education and restaurant dining, based on local risk assessment.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 2.74 million lives in 191 countries and regions.

Over 124.95 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 70.88 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.