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Turkey reports 1,716 new coronavirus cases

14 September 2020 23:57 (UTC +04:00)

The Turkish Health Ministry on Monday reported 1,716 new cases and 63 deaths from COVID-19 within the past 24 hours, APA reports citing Daily Sabah.

According to daily data released by the ministry, the new infections were identified in more than 112,000 COVID-19 tests carried out over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 292,878.

The death toll from coronavirus increased to 7,119 with 63 new fatalities. Meanwhile, the total number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 increased to 260,058, with 1,225 patients declared free of the coronavirus in the past day.

Shortly after the daily data was published, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said there was no scientific data suggesting a slowdown in the infectiousness of the coronavirus, as he urged people once more to follow precautions.

“We can’t fight it alone but we can overcome it together. Let’s pay attention to the precautions together,” he wrote on Twitter.

Turkey has been seeing a resurgence in coronavirus infections for the past few weeks, with daily infection rates slowly but steadily climbing. Monday’s case numbers were the highest since May 8.

In an effort to prevent a further increase in infection rates, the Interior Ministry last week declared wearing masks outside mandatory across all provinces. The order previously applied to only the worst-hit cities, with many provinces only requiring mask use in often-crowded streets.

The government also reintroduced a previously removed capacity cap for mass transit vehicles, banning all standing passengers on buses and significantly reducing capacities for subways and Istanbul’s metrobuses.