Turkey reported Thursday 1,648 new cases and 66 deaths from COVID-19 within the past 24 hours.

According to daily data released by the ministry, the new infections were identified in more than almost 110,000 COVID-19 tests carried out over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 298,039.

The death toll from coronavirus increased to 7,315 with 66 new fatalities. Meanwhile, the total number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 increased to 263,745, with 1,143 patients declared free of the coronavirus in the past day.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that almost 9 million tests have been conducted so far and urged citizens to adhere to the measures. "It's in our hands to stop the increase in the number of losses and critically ill patients," he warned.

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 declared 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.