People walk past by closed shops at deserted Mahmutpasa street, a popular middle-class shopping district, during a nationwide “full closure” imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) contagion in Istanbul, Turkey April 30, 2021. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s new coronavirus cases jumped to 22,291 on Wednesday, the highest since early May, according to health ministry data that also showed the daily death toll reached a six-week high of 76 people.
Daily infections last peaked at 63,000 in April. They were brought down by a stringent lockdown that ended in mid-May, falling as low as 4,418 on July 4 before surging again.
The latest increase follows last week’s Eid al Adha holiday when many Turks flocked to crowded beach resorts. But rates appear highest in eastern regions where vaccinations are lower than the national average.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 87% of current cases were among people who were not fully vaccinated. The rate rose to 95% for hospitalisations, Koca said in a televised statement, appealing to people to get their vaccinations.
He said currently there was no need to reimpose restrictions to combat the spread of the virus but did not rule out doing so in the future.