Turkey’s coronavirus death toll reaches 812 with 38,226 cases

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Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by 87 to total 812 and new confirmed cases rose by 4,117 to bring the country’s total to 38,226, the health ministry announced on April 8.

The total number of recovered cases stood at 1,846, and the number of tests carried out over the last 24 hours was 24,900, the health ministry said.

"Some 264 more of our patients have recovered. The rate of increase in the number of patients who are in intensive care unit and are intubated has a downtrend trend. Our success depends on isolation," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter.

Hastalarımızdan 264’ü daha iyileşti. Yoğun bakım ve entübe hasta sayımızdaki artış hızı düşme eğiliminde. Başarımız izolasyona bağlı. Virüs, gücünü temas ortamından alıyor. Virüse bu fırsatı tanımayalım. Evde kalalım.https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/JukrzwanOm

— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) April 8, 2020

Meanwhile, the Turkish Medical Association has claimed that the number of coronavirus deaths in the country is higher than the official figures announced daily by the health ministry.

Turkish Medical Association claims number of coronavirus deaths higher than official figures

According to the association’s central council, the ministry does not convey the numbers to the World Health Organization (WHO) using the appropriate codes, causing the death toll to seem lesser than it actually is.

“The fact that these codes are not used in line with the suggestions of international organizations, such as WHO, causes the number of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic to be seen lesser,” a statement released by the association said on April 8.

Since the first coronavirus case was confirmed on March 11, Turkey has taken a series of measures to curb the spread of the virus, such as quarantining some towns, banning mass prayers, closing schools, bars and restaurants and limiting inter-city travel.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly called on citizens to impose their own quarantine but stopped short of imposing a broad stay-at-home order.