ISTANBUL

Intensive care occupancy in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul is at 71.4% amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Turkey's health minister said on Monday.

Following a virtual meeting with local authorities in Istanbul, as well as other northwestern provinces grappling with the highest case rises in the country, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that the occupancy of intensive care units in Tekirdag is at 73.5%, 67.1% in Canakkale, 69% in Kirklareli, and 55.4% in Yalova.

"We evaluated the course of the outbreak and the measures taken in these provinces," said Koca after meeting with these provinces' governors and health directors.

Istanbul has nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population and has been a hot spot for the virus.

On Monday, Turkey reported over 55,000 new coronavirus cases, according to Health Ministry data.

A total of 55,149 cases, including 2,862 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country, the data showed.

Turkey's overall case tally is over 4.32 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 36,267, with 341 more fatalities over the past day.

According to the Health Ministry figures, since its vaccine campaign began in mid-January, Turkey has so far administered over 20 million coronavirus vaccine jabs across the country.