Turkey reports 6,017 new COVID-19 patients
Police officers patrol Istiklal Street, one of the main shopping streets in Istanbul, minutes into the partial lockdown, part of the new measures to try curb the spread of the coronavirus, Nov. 21, 2020. (AP Photo)


Turkey registered 6,017 more coronavirus patients over the past 24 hours, according to data by the Health Ministry on Sunday.

The new cases raised the overall count to 446,822.

As many as 3,812 patients also recovered over the past day, bringing the tally to 374,637, while the death toll rose by 139 to reach 12,358.

More than 155,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country, taking the total to over 17 million.

The number of patients in critical condition now stands at 4,217.

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said "we must strictly follow the rules" so that new restrictions can yield positive results.

Starting this week, Turkey imposed a partial weekend curfew, from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. local time.

The pandemic has claimed more than 1.38 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December, according to the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

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