Turkey logs record 66,467 COVID-19 cases as Omicron surges

Turkey recorded 66,467 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily figure on record, health ministry data showed on Wednesday, as infections surge due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. It also recorded 143 COVID-related deaths in the same period, the data showed. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said the government was not considering new restrictions for now, urging citizens to get vaccinated and increase personal safety measures.

Turkey recorded 66,467 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily figure on record, health ministry data showed on Wednesday, as infections surge due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

It also recorded 143 COVID-related deaths in the same period, the data showed. Cases in Turkey have more than doubled in just over a week as the Omicron variant became dominant in the country. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said the government was not considering new restrictions for now, urging citizens to get vaccinated and increase personal safety measures. Officials have also said schools would remain open.

"Despite the rise in infections due to the Omicron variant, there is no worrying rise in hospitalisation rates," Koca said on Twitter on Wednesday. Turkey has administered some 130 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines using shots developed by China's Sinovac Biotech and by Pfizer/. It also started administering booster shots, and began rolling out its domestically-produced vaccine, Turkovac, last week.

President Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said his government would make Turkovac available globally, but Ankara has yet to release detailed information about the vaccine's efficacy or results from clinical trials.