Turkey on Wednesday lifted quarantine requirements for thrice-vaccinated people who have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19.
"All positive cases will be able to end isolation after seven days," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a video message after a meeting of the country's COVID-19 Scientific Committee.
Koca added that the committee had also lifted PCR screening test requirements for people who have come in contact with others infected with the coronavirus.
"From now on, PCR tests will only be conducted on people showing symptoms," added the minister.
Turkey confirmed 77,722 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, hitting the biggest daily spike since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, according to the latest official data.
Omicron is currently the dominant variant in Turkey, with the number of cases up four times compared to December, Koca said, adding that hospitalizations also rose almost 10%.
On Turkiye's homegrown Turkovac vaccine, Koca said that no one should hesitate to say it out loud that the vaccine is safe to use.
Turkovac reduces the risk of contracting COVID-19 by nearly 50% compared to the Chinese CoronaVac, according to a study conducted by Turkiye's leading Hacettepe University.
