Turkey: Death toll from coronavirus rises to 2,600

ANKARA Turkey on Friday confirmed 109 additional fatalities related to the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 2,600. The total number of registered coronavirus cases surged to 104,912, as 3,122 more people tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared on Twitter. So far, a total of 21,737 patients have been discharged from medical care after recovering from the virus, with 3,246 discharged on Friday alone, health ministry data showed. A total of 38,351 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, with the total reaching 830,257, according to the data. Koca also noted that the number of patients discharged in the past 24 hours accounted for roughly 15% of total so far. He said screening, early diagnosis and treatment efforts had been successful, emphasizing that precautionary support had been key in achieving the results so far. 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. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions. The pandemic has killed more than 193,000 people, with total infections exceeding 2.76 million, while more than 762,00 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.