COVID-19 cases soar to record levels in Turkey

Police officers patrol Istiklal street, the main shopping street in Istanbul, minutes into the lockdown, part of the new measures to try curb the spread of the coronavirus, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (AP)

• The number of new daily cases has surpassed the outbreak’s previous peak in April
• Evening lockdowns were introduced over the weekend for the first time since June

ANKARA: Turkey saw a record number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 for the second day running on Sunday as 6,017 new symptomatic patients were documented, the health ministry said.
The number of new daily cases has surpassed the outbreak’s previous peak in April.
Evening lockdowns were introduced over the weekend for the first time since June, with businesses such as restaurants and bars ordered to close.
The ministry said 446,882 patients with symptoms have been identified since the country’s first recorded case in March. Turkey does not publicly report confirmed coronavirus cases in people without COVID-19 symptoms, a policy that has been criticized for masking the true scope of the national outbreak.
Turkey recorded 139 COVID-19 deaths over the previous 24 hours, taking the country’s total to 12,358, the health ministry reported.