ANKARA
Turkey on Sunday confirmed 1,562 new cases from the novel coronavirus after the country eased measures against the disease.
The latest infections raised the tally of COVID-19 cases nationwide to 178,239, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing the Health Ministry data.
“The number of recoveries fell below the number of new cases. We are moving away from the target,” Koca warned.
“Our weak point is unwary optimism. Let’s be prudent optimist,” he urged the public.
On Saturday, Turkey confirmed 1,459 coronavirus cases for a single day.
According to test results, 151, 417 people beat the disease, with new 1,330 recoveries, while 717 patients remain in intensive care.
The country's death toll from the virus rose to 4,807, as it reported 15 new fatalities in the past 24 hours.
Health care professionals conducted 45,176 tests for the disease in the past day, raising the total count to over 2.63 million.
Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.
The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the hardest hit in the world.
The pandemic has killed over 431,000 people worldwide, with more than 7.83 million confirmed cases and over 3.73 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.
