A man receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Ankara, Turkey, on May 3, 2021. The number of COVID-19 patients who have applied to be hospitalized in the last two weeks across Turkey has decreased by half, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Monday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 patients who have applied to be hospitalized in the last two weeks across Turkey has decreased by half, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in the northwestern province of Edirne, Koca noted that following the complete lockdown scheduled to end on May 17, Turkey would witness a rapid decrease in the number of infections.
He said the lowered number of daily cases would create a better picture regarding the COVID-19 fatalities and the number of seriously ill patients.
Turkey's strictest ever lockdown begun on April 29 after the daily cases surged to a record high of over 60,000.
The country has administered more than 23.4 million COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination program in mid-January with priority to healthcare workers. Enditem
