Turkey reports record daily number of Covid-19 deaths

People wearing masks to help protect against the spread of coronavirus, work at a food market hours before a two-day weekend nationwide lockdown, in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, April 16, 2021. AP

Turkey on Sunday reported its highest daily number of Covid-19 deaths, Health Ministry data showed.

The 318 deaths confirmed in 24 hours took the country’s total pandemic toll to 35,926.

The Health Ministry also reported 55,802 new confirmed cases, pushing Turkey’s total closer to 4.3 million.

Weekly data released on Sunday showed the north-west province of Canakkale had Turkey’s highest infection rate, at 962.98 cases for every 100,000 people.

Turkey has had rising numbers of cases and deaths since the government eased virus-control restrictions at the start of March, when daily confirmed cases averaged below 10,000.

The government has blamed the rising numbers on coronavirus variants.

A partial closure was reintroduced on April 13, including an extended evening curfew on weekdays, a return to online education and a ban on unnecessary intercity travel.

Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reimposed weekend lockdowns and ordered restaurants and cafes to shut during Ramadan.

Mr Erdogan on Saturday said that Turkey, which has a population of nearly 84 million, had administered 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

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