Turkey Records Highest Daily Tally of New Coronavirus Cases

More than 39,300 cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Turkey on Wednesday, a record high of daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the country’s Health Ministry. Also recorded were 152 deaths from the virus, as well as 19,193 recoveries. A total of 1,401 patients are currently hospitalized, with hospital occupancy rates exceeding 50%.

Turkey is experiencing a third wave of the pandemic; numbers began to rise at the end of February. Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca said 75% of current cases were of the British variant.

In response to the rise in cases, restrictive measures will be tightened, Turkey announced this week. Depending on the severity of the situation in a given area, authorities will impose weekend and nightly curfews, among other measures, and will limit Ramadan events. The holy Muslim month begins on April 14.

The country’s vaccination drive began on January 14; some 16 million doses have already been administered. Slightly more than 10% of the population has received the first dose of the vaccine.

Since the pandemic hit Turkey in March 2020, 3.3 million people have been infected with the virus and 31,537 have died.