Turkey releases weekly provincial COVID-19 statistics

Turkey's health minister announced on Saturday weekly coronavirus infection rates for across 81 provinces.

Sharing data between March 27 and April 2 on Twitter, Fahrettin Koca wrote: "It is in our hands to turn the situation in our favor."

The number of cases per 100,000 people was 591 in the metropolis Istanbul, up from 401 in the previous week, 272 in the capital Ankara, up from 184, and 218 in the western Izmir province over 156 last week.

According to data, Black Sea province of Samsun continued to have the highest weekly case total with 678 per 100,000 people.

The southeastern provinces of Şırnak, Hakkari, Şanlıurfa, Bitlis, and the eastern province of Van had the lowest COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people between the given dates, with Sirnak having just 23.

As of Saturday, Turkey confirmed more than 3.44 million cases, 32,078 fatalities, and over 3 million recoveries nationwide.

Since Turkey began a mass COVID-vaccination campaign on Jan. 14, it has administered over 16.66 million coronavirus vaccine jabs, according to official figures.

More than 9.5 million people to date have received their first doses, while second doses have been given to over 7.13 million.

In the face of rising case and fatality numbers, Turkey announced the return of weekend curfews in high-risk areas, as well as other restrictions, in addition to special measures for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 2.84 million lives in 192 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University. Over 130.4 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now nearing 74 million.