Turkey records more than 111,000 COVID-19 infections in 24 hours - ministry

Turkey recorded 111,157 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, while the daily death toll was its highest in four months, health ministry data showed on Friday.

In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000 but have since surged due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Friday's data also showed 248 people died due to COVID-19 in the same 24-hour period, the highest daily toll since Oct. 4 when there were also 248 deaths.

To counter the spread of the virus, the country has administered over 142.73 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January last year.

More than 57.48 million people have received a first jab, while over 52.48 million are fully vaccinated. Third booster shots have also been given to more than 25.45 million people.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that the number of deaths due to coronavirus was high.

"The increase in the number of cases due to the easy spread of the omicron variant leads to death, especially in severe chronic patients and the elderly with chronic diseases, due to low resistance levels," Koca said, urging the public to get vaccinated.