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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkey Logs Record 93,586 New COVID Cases

People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkey has recorded 93,586 new COVID-19 cases in the space of 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, health ministry data showed on Friday.

Daily cases have surged to record high levels in recent weeks with the spread of the Omicron variant but Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said the new variant would reduce the severity of the pandemic due to a lower hospitalization rate.

"The virus is not as strong as it was. There is no need to be concerned due to the increasing numbers," he said on Twitter, calling on people to get vaccinated.

There were 210 deaths related to coronavirus in the same period, the data showed on Friday, the highest since early December and up from 174 a day earlier.

In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000, before a surge in infections due to Omicron.

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