Turkey reports nearly 15,000 new coronavirus cases

Turkey registered 14,993 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry said 53 virus-related fatalities and 18,856 recoveries were also recorded in the past 24 hours, and 277,537 tests were done.

To counter the spread of the virus, Turkey has administered nearly 147 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

More than 57.77 million people have gotten a first vaccine jab, while almost 53 million have been immunized twice. The number of booster shots administered has exceeded 27.62 million.

With the virus apparently receding, Turkey in early March scrapped its outdoor mask mandate, a longtime measure to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 6.13 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with over 485.58 million cases reported, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.