2,069 new cases confirmed in Turkey, death toll hits 92
A municipality worker wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant at the iconic Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, one of the city's main tourist attractions, that shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak, Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (AP Photo)


Around 2,069 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Turkey in the last 24 hours, while 17 more people died, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Friday following a Science Council meeting.

The country's total caseload of COVID-19 reached 5,698 and the death toll now stands at 92.

As of Friday, 47,823 tests have been conducted, including 7,533 in the last 24 hours, Koca said.

Reiterating that social mobility must be limited as much as possible, Koca urged people to heed Health Ministry's recommendations aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus.

Turkey's government is not disclosing the location of cases to prevent the risk of increasing transmission rates by encouraging people to move from areas with high rates to places where there are no or few cases, Koca added.

He said the Science Council has evaluated effective measures taken around the globe.

"There will be changes in the coming days whether we want it or not. (The virus) is mostly transmitted in crowded environments. The measures (that need to be taken) are actually simple but very important," Koca stressed.

He also said that Turkey's intensive care units (ICU) are filled to 62-63% of total capacity.

The COVID-19 disease that originated in Wuhan, China has infected more than 570,000 people worldwide, killing 26,000. Nearly 126,000 have recovered so far.