Turkey announces more than 22,000 new COVID-19 cases

Turkey reported 22,195 more coronavirus infections, including 4,002 symptomatic patients, over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released Saturday.

The total number of cases reached over 2 million with the latest additions, the data showed.

As many as 25,516 cases recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to some 1.78 million, while the death toll climbed to 17,851 with 241 additions.

Across the country, more than 173,000 COVID-19 tests were carried out, pushing the total to over 22.28 million.

The number of patients in critical condition now stands at 5,501.

Stating that daily number of patients and number of patients in critical condition continue to drop, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, "We are seeing the results of measures and restrictions."

"We expect to see more evident results in the coming days. The pandemic could only be tackled together," Koca added.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 1.68 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December.

Nearly 76 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 42.79 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

While the US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases, Europe is in the grip of a devastating second wave of infections.