Turkey reports 1,172 new COVID-19 cases, 239,622 in total

Turkey reported 1,172 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total number in the country to 239,622, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

Meanwhile, 16 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,829, while 1,082 patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 222,656 in Turkey since the outbreak, Koca tweeted.

Turkish health professionals conducted 63,842 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 5,202,370, he said.

The rate of pneumonia among COVID-19 patients is 8.1 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 587, according to the minister.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on March 11.

Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19.

Chinese doctors and medical experts held video conferences with Turkish counterparts to share China's experience in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.