Turkey Coronavirus Cases Top 100,000

By Staff, Agencies

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Turkey surged to 101,790 Thursday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

The country registered 115 COVID-19 deaths and 3,116 new cases in the past 24 hours, Koca said on his official Twitter account.

With the latest figures, Turkey's fatalities have reached 2,491.

Relatively, a four-day lockdown began in 31 Turkish cities including Ankara and Istanbul Thursday, and will last until midnight Sunday, in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

The government has already taken a series of measures including shutting schools and universities, banning mass gatherings and closing public spaces such as restaurants.

The Turkish Medical Association, which represents 80 percent of doctors in Turkey, said Wednesday nearly 3,500 health workers had been infected while 24 had died.