Turkey records its highest number of daily COVID-19 patients in 1.5 months, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday.
Speaking following a science committee meeting on the coronavirus pandemic, Koca said that the daily number of COVID-19 tests will increase to 100,000 in a few days.
"Turkey recorded 1,303 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths in the last 24 hours," Koca stated.
The number of people recovered, however, reached 233,915 with the addition of 1,002 new recoveries.
"There are no difficulties with drug supplies as four companies have started the domestic production of antiviral drugs," the minister expressed, adding that the occupancy rate of intensive care units stands at 64.8%.
Public negligence of strict coronavirus measures, including mandatory mask-wearing and self-isolation orders for positive patients, is largely blamed for the steady number in new cases. In the past two weeks, the Interior Ministry has started weekly simultaneous nationwide checks for compliance, while local governorates carry out random inspections. The third round of nationwide inspections was held Wednesday with everyone, from governors to police officers, on the streets to monitor people not wearing masks and visiting businesses to see whether they are heeding hygiene and safety rules.
