Ankara[Turkey], April 5 (Sputnik/): COVID-19 continues to spread through Turkey as a further 3,013 new cases of the disease and 76 more deaths have been reported on Saturday, the country's Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca announced.
According to a graphic posted on Twitter by the health minister, the total number of cases reported in Turkey since the start of the outbreak is now 23,934. The COVID-19 death toll in the country currently stands at 501, according to Koca.
A total of 786 people in Turkey have recovered completely after contracting the disease, the minister reported.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that entry and exit to 30 of the country's major cities will be banned for 15 days to help curb the spread of the disease. Erdogan stated that the tougher measures were the result of people violating previous self-isolation guidelines.
Turkish health care professionals are currently planning to trial a treatment against COVID-19 that will involve blood transfusions from those who have recovered from the disease to patients still displaying symptoms, Kerem Kinik, Turkish Red Crescent Society president, said on Friday. (Sputnik/)
( With inputs from ANI )