ANKARA

Turkey reported 30,424 more coronavirus infections, including 5,918 symptomatic patients, over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released Thursday.

The total number of patients reached 564,435 with the latest additions, the data showed.

As many as 5,232 patients recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to 452,593, while the death toll rose to 15,751 with 220 additions.

Across the country, more than 206,000 COVID-19 tests were carried out, pushing the total to over 20.5 million.

The number of patients in critical condition now stands at 5,943, though the rate of increase in severe cases is declining.

The country has reported a total of 1,748,567 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Health Ministry data.

"We have started to feel the effects of the measures taken," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, referring to the decrease in the number of patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 1.57 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December.

Nearly 69.1 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 44.53 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

While the US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases, Europe is in the grip of a devastating second wave of infections.​​​