Number of new COVID-19 cases in Turkey falls for 3rd consecutive day

Turkey's coronavirus infections fell for a third consecutive day to 14,205 in the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released Sunday.

The total number of cases has reached 2.15 million with the latest additions.

The death toll from the virus rose by 254 bringing total deaths to 19,878 while as many as 21,196 people have recovered since Saturday, bringing the tally to 2 million.

Some 172,113 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country over the past day, pushing the total to over 23.77 million.

The number of patients in critical condition stands at 4,309, the data showed.

"Our number of cases and patients continues to decline. The number of contacts and test demand is also decreasing. We hope to see the impact of the measures and restrictions on our losses soon. The continuity of the fight will make the success permanent," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Koca also added that the delivery of Sinovac vaccines to Turkey are postponed "1-2 days" due to the COVID-19 case in Beijing customs.

Ankara has imposed full weekend lockdowns and weekday curfews to curb infections. Turks will also be on lockdown from 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 to 5 a.m. on Jan. 4 as part of the measures.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 1.74 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December.

Over 79.48 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 44.82 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the U.S.' Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S., India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases.

While new restrictions are being imposed ahead of the holiday season, especially across Europe, countries are approving and procuring vaccines to pave the way toward the end of the pandemic.