Less than 1,000 patients under intensive care in Turkey

ANKARA The number of patients under intensive care has fell below 1,000 in Turkey for the first time, while over 100,000 patients have recovered, the health minister said on Wednesday. The number of recoveries has reached 101,715 with 2,826 additions in the last 24 hours, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. The death toll from the pandemic rose to 3,952 as the country saw 58 more fatalities over the past day, Koca said, citing the Health Ministry data. The country also registered 1,639 new cases, bringing the tally to 143,114, he added. As many as 33,332 tests were conducted in the country over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests to nearly 1.48 million, Koca said. Stressing the importance of social distancing and using masks, he urged the public to continue avoiding crowded places, even as measures to fight the virus’ spread are gradually relaxed. Since first appearing China last December, the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease has spread to at least 188 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas. The pandemic has killed more than 294,100 worldwide, with nearly 4.3 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.51 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.