Turkey sees 98 more coronavirus deaths, toll at 1,296

ANKARA Turkey on Monday confirmed 98 more deaths from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,296. The total number of registered coronavirus cases surged to 61,049 as 4,093 more people tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, sharing the ministry's link for daily updates of coronavirus figures. So far, a total of 3,957 have recovered and been discharged from hospital, Koca said. He also said that 34,456 tests were conducted over the past day, with the overall number of tests hitting 410,556. Turkey is currently treating 1,786 patients in intensive care units, according to the figures. “The expected rise in the number of cases in line with the increasing number of tests is decreasing rapidly,” Koca said. On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey will continue with its weekend curfews to stem the spread of the coronavirus. After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe. The U.S. is also among the worst-hit countries. The pandemic has killed over 117,500 people, and infected over 1.88 million, while almost 444,000 people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the U.S.' Johns Hopkins University.