Turkey's daily COVID-19 infections near 30,000 after gov't resumes publishing asymptomatic cases

Turkey on Nov. 26 reported the highest number of new daily COVID-19 infections yet with 29,132 COVID-19 cases, including asymptomatic ones. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the course of the pandemic will determine whether new restrictions will be implemented in the upcoming days or not.

Thursday November 26 2020 07:19 pm

Duvar English

Turkey on Nov. 26 registered 29,132 new coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones, according to data released by the Health Ministry. The country's daily COVID-19 deaths hit record high for the fourth consecutive day with 174 fatalities.

From July until Nov. 25, Ankara had only reported symptomatic cases, of which there were 6,876 on Nov. 26, raising the total number to 474,606. The total number of deaths stood at 13,014.

The new case tally from Nov. 26 was also the highest daily number reported since the beginning of the pandemic but historical data and the cumulative number of all cases is still not available.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the course of the pandemic will determine whether new restrictions will be implemented in the upcoming days or not. "If we comply with the measures, there is no need for restrictions. We can succeed [in the fight against the virus] if we put a struggle altogether," Koca tweeted.

Bugün tespit edilen 6.876 yeni hastamız var. Aktif hasta sayımız artıyor. Salgının seyri kadar bizim tedbirlere uyumumuz da kısıtlamalar konusunda belirleyici olacak. Tedbirlere uyarsak kısıtlamalara gerek kalmaz. Birlikte mücadele edersek başarabiliriz. https://t.co/RVlhe7786O
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) November 26, 2020

During a news conference following a meeting of the Coronavirus Science Committee on Nov. 25, Koca unexpectedly said Ankara would begin announcing the total numbers.

"In line with requests from our people, we plan on including positive cases that do not show symptoms in the daily table," he said, adding that around 80 percent of people who test positive were asymptomatic or lightly symptomatic.

Last week, the government announced tighter restrictions in the fight against the virus, including the introduction of weekend partial curfews and limitations on the opening hours of restaurants, cafes, and shopping malls.

Topics Turkey COVID-19 Turkey Coronavirus Health Ministry