Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday the number of new COVID-19 infections, which showed an increase in cases amid the normalization efforts based on provincial cases, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
According to the figures shared by the minister, northern Samsun province continues to lead, while other Black Sea cities followed.
The number of COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people in Samsun stood at 508, as Giresun followed with 356 and Sinop with 309. Cases in northwestern provinces Balıkesir and Yalova followed with 288 and 275, respectively.
The minister also shared a message on Twitter, saying that the virus “should not be ignored.”
“We cannot ignore the virus. We also should not let it overtake our normal lives. We can succeed if we abide by the precautionary measures,” he said.
“We have the power to normalize, but this is only possible with precautions,” Koca added.
Eastern and southeastern Turkey have also continued to be the regions with the least number of cases, as Şırnak, Siirt, Hakkari, Mardin and Şanlıurfa provinces reported the fewest number of infections.
On the other hand, the three biggest cities registered rising infection numbers, as the cases skyrocketed in Istanbul to 251 infections per 100,000 people, and Ankara and Izmir followed with 108 and 111 cases, respectively, with the governor of the latter issuing a stark warning.