The number of people to have recovered from COVID-19 has approached 100,000 as 3,109 more patients beat the disease in the last 24 hours, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Tuesday.

New daily infections totaled 1,704, increasing the total caseload reaching 141,475, while the death toll rose by 53 to 3,894.

"The increase in the number of new cases is within predictable limits. 70% of all cases have recovered. The number of patients in intensive care continues to decrease," Koca said.

As many as 37,351 tests were performed in the country over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests to over 1.4 million, he added.

The number of patients in Turkey in intensive care and in need of ventilators continues to fall, he added.

Stressing the importance of social distancing and using masks, he urged the public to continue to avoid crowded places, even as measures to fight the virus's spread are gradually relaxed.

Over 4.2 million cases have been reported in 187 countries since the virus emerged in China last December. The U.S. and Europe are currently the hardest-hit areas.

A significant number of COVID-19 patients-over 1.4 million-have recovered worldwide, but the disease has claimed over 288,000 lives, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.