Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises by 64 to 3,461, with 1,614 new cases

Duvar English

Turkey’s death toll from the novel coronavirus rose by 64 to total 3,461 and new confirmed cases rose by 1,614 to bring the country’s total to 127,659, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on May 4, as a slowdown in deaths and confirmed cases continued.

A total of 68,166 people have so far recovered from the virus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, Koca said.

The number of tests conducted in Turkey in the past 24 hours stood at 35,771, raising the total number of tests during the outbreak to more than 1.17 million.

"The difference between the number of patients who have recovered within the last 24 hours and the new cases has continued to increase. Despite the increase of 11,000 in the number of tests compared to yesterday, the number of new confirmed cases decreased. The control is in our hands if we do not give a new chance to the illness," Koca tweeted.

Koca shared the data just minutes after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkey will start easing coronavirus containment measures as early as this weekend.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdoğan said senior and youth citizens will be allowed outside for 4 hours for one day a week and that travel restrictions would be lifted for seven provinces, excluding Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.