ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2020) The total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Turkey since the start of the outbreak has surpassed 30,000, as more than 3,000 new cases have been reported in the previous 24 hours, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca announced on Monday.
According to a graphic posted on Twitter by the health minister, the total number of cases reported in Turkey since the start of the outbreak is now 30,217, up 3,148 from Sunday. The COVID-19 death toll in the country currently stands at 649 after 75 new deaths were reported, according to Koca.
A total of 1,326 people in Turkey have recovered after contracting the disease, an increase of 284 in the previous 24 hours, the minister said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of a campaign to distribute free protective medical masks to the country's population as part of attempts to slow the outbreak.
"The provincial administrations, the Turkish public services portal, and the Turkish postal service have started distributing masks free of charge to all citizens of our country who apply on the portal. I want to stress that the sale of these masks is prohibited. Supermarkets will also provide masks for free," the president said in a televised address.
Erdogan added that Turkey has ample supplies of medical masks currently in storage, and there are plans to further support production in the country until the end of the outbreak.
On Friday, Erdogan told the nation that all people who travel to public places should wear medical masks. During the same briefing, the president announced that entry and exit to 30 major cities, and the city of Zonguldak, where pulmonary disease is widespread due to the coal mining industry, would be closed for 15 days in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
