Ankara, April 19 Turkey has replaced Iran as the hardest-hit nation by the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East as the number of confirmed cases reached 82,329.
The number surged to 82,329 after 3,783 new cases were confirmed on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.
The death toll reached 1,890 in the country after 121 new fatalities were reported, said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
A total of 10,453 patients have recovered since the outbreak of the virus in the country in mid-March.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday inspected the construction zones of two COVID-19 hospitals in Istanbul from the air by a helicopter which are expected to provide full capacity service with its 1,008 beds each when completed.
As of Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Iran reached 80,868, with the emergence of 1,374 new infections.
While the death toll stood at 5,031, up by 73 from a day ago.
( With inputs from IANS )