ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey recorded 41,998 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday, slightly less than a record high it touched a day earlier as the country battles a huge surge in infections.
Turkey currently ranks fifth globally for most daily cases based on a seven-day average, according to a Reuters tally.
Cases have soared since the government eased measures to curb the pandemic in early March, and daily cases rose to a record high of 44,756 on Saturday.
On Monday, President Tayyip Erdogan announced a tightening of measures, including the return of full nationwide weekend lockdowns for the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on April 13.
The total number of cases in Turkey stood at 3.487 million as of Sunday, the data showed. The latest daily death toll was 185, bringing the cumulative toll to 32,263.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Frances Kerry)
