Turkey reported Saturday 1,511 new COVID-19 cases and 71 deaths within the past 24 hours.

According to daily data released by the ministry, the new infections were identified in more than 102,000 COVID-19 tests, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 312,966.

The death toll from coronavirus increased to 7,929 with 71 new fatalities. Meanwhile, the total number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 increased to 274,514, with 1,232 patients declared free of the coronavirus in the past day.

Turkey has been seeing a resurgence in coronavirus infections for the past few weeks, with daily infection rates slowly but steadily climbing.

In an effort to prevent a further increase in infection rates, the Interior Ministry last week made wearing masks outside mandatory across all provinces. The order previously applied to only the worst-hit cities, with many provinces only requiring mask use in often-crowded streets.

The government also reintroduced a previously removed capacity cap for mass transit vehicles, banning all standing passengers on buses and significantly reducing capacities for subways and Istanbul’s metrobuses.