Turkey reports over 10,000 more new virus cases

Turkey reported over 10,000 new coronavirus infections on Monday.

A total of 10,220 cases, including 1,003 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country, according to Health Ministry data.

Turkey's overall case tally has crossed 2.33 million, including a death toll that rose by 174 over the past day to reach 22,981.

As many as 10,301 more patients recovered in the country, bringing the total past 2.2 million.

More than 26.37 million COVID-19 tests have been carried out in Turkey to date, with 180,303 more done over the past 24 hours.

The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition dropped to 2,783, a point stressed by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

He urged the public to continue following safety measures even as vaccine jabs are expected to begin later this week, as announced by the president Monday.

"It is important to comply with the restrictions and measures until the vaccination program is completed. We will win together," Koca said on Twitter.

Turkey has been implementing curfews on both weeknights and weekends since last month as part of efforts to curb infections.

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.93 million lives in 191 countries and regions.

Over 90.43 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 50.13 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.