Turkey releases weekly coronavirus infection rates

ANKARA

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also released the latest weekly infection rates across the country’s various regions.

Sharing the data for May 15-21 on Twitter, Fahrettin Koca touted the country's falling case numbers.

“The biggest drops in the number of cases per 100,000 people were seen in Erzincan, Istanbul, Karabük, Ağrı, and Karaman. The positive course continues. We will succeed by striving together,” Koca said on Twitter.

In Turkey’s largest cities, the number of cases per 100,000 people was 123 in the metropolis of Istanbul-home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population-and also 123 in the capital Ankara and 72 in Izmir on the Aegean.

The provinces of Hatay, Osmaniye and Adana had the lowest COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people.

Turkey on May 17 started a gradual normalization process after a 17-day lockdown that brought infections in the country down significantly.

Until June 1, the country has weeknight curfews from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., while weekends are under full lockdown.

Meanwhile, Turkey has administered over 28.23 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since the launch of a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, with as many as 170,000 given on Tuesday, according to official figures.

As of Tuesday, more than 16.16 million people have received their first doses, while over 12 million have been fully vaccinated, said the Health Ministry count.