ANKARA, June 11 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish authorities started COVID-19 antibody tests on 153,000 people across the country, Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, said.
“With this study, we will know the level of our immune status in society,” Koca said at a press conference.
Turkey sees a partial increase in the number of COVID-19 in central Anatolia, as well as, in eastern and southeastern parts of the country.
Turkey’s COVID-19 cases increased by 922 on Wednesday, raising the total cases to 173,036, Koca said.
Meanwhile, 17 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 4,746, the minister said, adding, Turkey conducted 36,521 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 2,451,700.
A total of 2,241 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 146,839, since the outbreak, Koca said, noting, 631 patients are being treated at intensive care units and 280 intubated.
The average age of the new cases is 36, and the average age of deaths is 71, the minister said.
Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on Mar 11, and stepped up the normalisation process by easing restrictions as of June 1.– NNN-ANADOLU
