COVID-19 cases in Turkey 'on increasing trend despite vaccination success'

Duvar English - Anadolu Agency

COVID-19 cases in Turkey "tend to increase despite the success of the government's vaccination program," which shows that the pandemic is not yet over, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on July 14. 

Turkey has administered over 60.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, official figures showed on July 14.

The Health Ministry also confirmed 6,907 new coronavirus infections and 43 deaths in the last 24 hours, while some 5,063 patients recovered. 

Koca noted that case numbers in several provinces with low vaccination rates are rising, and urged people to receive their shots.

"If we do not comply with the measures and do not get our vaccines, we may encounter difficult days," he said. "The condition for a strong return to normal is to comply with the measures until the herd immunity is achieved through vaccination."

According to Health Ministry data, over 38.4 million people have gotten their just first doses, while more than 18.7 million have received their second doses. In the last 24 hours, the country administered more than 1 million coronavirus vaccines.

The total number of first, second, and third doses given was just over 11 million in Istanbul, 4.95 million in the capital Ankara, and 4.06 million in the Aegean province of İzmir. 

Amid a nationwide fall in virus cases and a vaccination drive, Turkey has entered a new normalization phase in July, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.

However, seeking to limit the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, the country has suspended flights from India, where the strain was first detected, along with Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, arrivals from the UK, Iran, Egypt, and Singapore are required to have negative COVID-19 test results taken within 72 hours prior to their flight.