Turkey’s coronavirus death toll jumps to 75, as confirmed cases increase to 3,629

Turkey’s death toll from coronavirus rose by 16 to 75 as the number of cases increased by 1,196 to 3,629, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said late on March 26. He said on Twitter that 7,286 tests were carried out within the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests carried out in Turkey to around 40,000.

Thursday March 26 2020 10:41 pm

Duvar English

Turkey’s death toll from coronavirus rose by 16 to 75 as the number of cases increased by 1,196 to 3,629, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said late on March 26.

He said on Twitter that 7,286 tests were carried out within the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests carried out in Turkey to around 40,000.

"Patients and their contacts have been isolated...I persistently invite you to implement the measures," he wrote.

Test sayımız dün 5.035’ti. BUGÜN 7.286 olarak gerçekleşti. 1.196 yeni tanı kondu. Hastalar ve temas çevreleri izole edildi. 16 hastamızı kaybettik. Bu sonuçlarla can kaybımız 75’e, hasta sayımız 3.629’a ulaştı. Sizi ısrarla tedbirleri uygulamaya davet ediyorum.
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) March 26, 2020

Turkey confirmed its first case of the coronavirus early on March 11.

Since then, the government has taken a series of precautions against the spread of the virus, including shutting down schools, universities, bars, nightclubs, cinemas, cafes, spas, amusement parks as well as swimming pools.

On March 25, Ankara extended the closure of all schools until April 30 over the infection, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey will overcome the infection in two to three weeks through good measures.

On March 26, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that the country could order the public to stay at home if coronavirus infections continue to spread.

“Full social isolation is always on our agenda,” Soylu said on AHaber TV.

When asked whether a nationwide curfew is on the government’s agenda, Soylu said: “If we can’t cope with the situation that we face with the precautions in place today, we may ramp up the measures,” he said.

“We are following the precautions closely. It’s our responsibility to take the highest level of measures if the current ones are not abided by,” Soylu added.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) on March 26 warned that the official coronavirus case numbers in Turkey are “just the tip of the iceberg.”

A great number of sick people have applied to health institutions with clinical symptoms of the coronavirus disease, but have not been yet tested for the virus or their initial test results have come negative, the association said in a written statement, emphasizing the need for repeat testing.