Turkey's coronavirus cases surge past 50,000

The COVID-19 caseload surged by record 5,138 in a day, reaching 52,167.

"Our number of cases is increasing predictably with the increase in the number of tests. The same increase does not occur in the number of (patients in) intensive care. We are faster in diagnosis, treatment begins early. Turkey has shown considerable success in treatment," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose by 95 to 1,101. Some 1,626 patients remain in intensive care.

The number of recoveries reached 2,965 as 542 more patients were discharged Saturday.

More than 33,000 tests were performed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 340,000.

Turkey's Interior Ministry imposed a two-day curfew in 30 metropolitan provinces, as well as the northern province of Zonguldak as of midnight Friday in the latest government measure to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Global coronavirus cases over 1.7 million

The number of novel coronavirus cases worldwide reached 1,701,718 on Saturday, according to data compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

According to the figures, since the emergence of the virus in Wuhan, China last December, more than 102,867 people have died while about 377,000 have recovered.

Based on DS