Turkey reports over 77,000 new COVID cases, highest daily rise

Turkey confirmed 77,722 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, hitting the biggest daily spike since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, authorities said.

The Health Ministry reported 145 coronavirus-related deaths and 42,573 recoveries over the past day. As many as 422,028 virus tests were done in the past 24 hours.

To stem the infection, the country administered nearly 137.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021, according to the latest figures.

More than 57.18 million people have gotten their first jab, while over 52 million are fully vaccinated. Booster shots have been given to more than 22.25 million people.

Since December 2019, the coronavirus has claimed nearly 5.5 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 314 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.