The Health Ministry released its first weekly data regarding COVID-19 cases in Turkey, two weeks after it said the daily figures would no longer be announced. Between May 30 and June 5, only 7,322 people tested positive, the latest statistics released late Monday show.
A total of 19 people died of the coronavirus in the same period, while 7,843 people recovered from the infection.
Overall, the number of cases reported since the first case detected on March 11, 2020, exceeded 15 million. Since that date, 98,976 people have died. Meanwhile, the number of people vaccinated against coronavirus reached more than 147.7 million.
The highest rate of people vaccinated with at least two doses of coronavirus jabs (at the age of 18 and above) was in the provinces of Osmaniye, Amasya, Muğla, Kırklareli, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, Balıkesir, Manisa and Zonguldak, according to the figures. The vaccination rate was lowest in the provinces of Şanlıurfa, Batman, Siirt, Diyarbakır, Bingöl, Muş, Mardin, Bitlis, Ağrı and Elazığ.
Turkey staved off the worst of the pandemic in the past few months after grappling with new highs in the number of daily cases. Experts tie the decline in coronavirus cases to the less severe omicron strain, which contributed to a drop in hospitalizations. A vaccination drive, which began in January 2021, also played a major role in decreasing the prevalence of the cases.
In light of positive developments, Turkey gradually eased restrictions related to the pandemic. Currently, none of the previous tight restrictions, from social distancing to mandatory polymerase chain reaction tests (PCR) exist, while hospitals are the only venues where the public is required to wear protective masks.
Still, experts warn that the risk lingers for people with chronic illnesses and elderly citizens, advising them to take self-protection measures, including wearing protective masks. Health authorities earlier announced that most hospitalizations and fatalities were among senior citizens and people suffering from other diseases but it was unclear whether those who died or were hospitalized between May 30 and June 5 consisted of these two groups.