Turkey reported 15 new deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday as 1,242 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recovered cases to 149,102.
The total death toll reached 4,778.
The number of daily cases as of Friday was 1,195 as the total number of cases reached 175,218.
Some 41,013 tests were carried out as of Friday. The total number of tests now stands at 2,541,903.
As of Friday, 664 COVID-19 patients were being treated in intensive care units.
Turkey has adopted strict measures short of a full lockdown since March, and this month, it started gradually lifting restrictions. On June 1, restaurants, cafes, gyms, parks, beaches and museums were reopened. Intercity travel and domestic flights also resumed.
“The increase in the number of intubated patients and patients in intensive care units are on the brink of expected rise. The spreading of the virus stems from erroneous optimism,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted after sharing the figures related to daily cases. “Erroneous optimism” he refers to is what authorities call the increasing wrong belief that Turkey returned to the pre-pandemic era as the number of cases decreased and the government eased most of the restrictions. “We should follow mask, social distancing and hygiene rules,” Koca warned.
