Over 8,800 confirmed coronavirus cases in Istanbul, says minister

ANKARA

Data, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca provided on April 1, showed that Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, İzmir, the third-largest province by population, and the capital Ankara are the cities most affected by the coronavirus.

The number of total confirmed cases across the country neared 16,000 as of April 1 with a total death toll of around 300.

Speaking after the Coronavirus Science Council meeting, Koca told reporters that all 81 provinces of Turkey have registered coronavirus cases, adding that fatalities were recorded in 39 provinces. He noted that the fatality rate from the virus stands at 1.58 percent in Turkey, lower than many other countries.

For the first time, the health minister unveiled the case figures by provinces.

Most coronavirus cases were registered in Istanbul - 8,852 cases, which is 60 percent of all cases, followed by 853 cases in the Aegean province of İzmir, 712 cases in Ankara, 584 cases in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, and 410 cases in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, according to the health minister.

In Istanbul, 177 people lost their lives from the virus. In İzmir and Kocaeli the fatalities stood at 18 and eight, respectively as of April 1. In Ankara and the Central Anatolian province of Konya seven people each died of the virus.

The health minister also noted that hospitals have not over stressed their resources, with a 63 percent occupancy rate in intensive care units and a bed occupancy rate of 40 percent in the Anatolian region of Turkey.

Some 979 patients are being treated at intensive care units.

Some 68.8 percent of citizens who lost their lives along with 63.3 percent of those currently in intensive care were suffering from high blood pressure, Koca added.

He went on to say that nearly 80 percent of fatalities from coronavirus in Turkey occurred among people aged over 60.