Photographer: Chris McGrath / Getty Images
Photographer: Chris McGrath / Getty Images
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Turkey reported 318 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, a 10% increase from the previous day and the highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic.
As the number of new cases continues to be among the largest in the world, an expert has warned of an increase in the number of critically ill young people.
The death toll on Sunday raised the total number of deaths to 35,926, according to official data. The social distancing measures announced on April 13 have “started to slow down,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a tweet. However, the nation ranks third in the number of daily cases, behind India and Brazil, whose populations are much larger than the 84 million people in Turkey.
“Alarms have been sounding for the past 15 days,” Demiroren Ismail Cinel, head of the Turkish Intensive Care Association, told Demiroren News Agency on Sunday. “We now have more younger patients. The number of seriously ill people has risen in the last six weeks. This is an extremely difficult time for medical staff. ”
Growth also threatens the tourism industry. Earlier this month, Russia suspended most air travel with Turkey until June 1. Russia was the largest source of tourists to Turkey in 2020, with 2.13 million visitors despite the pandemic. The Turkish government aims to double the number of foreign visitors to 34 million this year.