Turkey Logs Record 93,586 New COVID Cases

People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)
People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)
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Turkey Logs Record 93,586 New COVID Cases

People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)
People shop at a fresh market in Ankara, Turkey December 20, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkey has recorded 93,586 new COVID-19 cases in the space of 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, health ministry data showed on Friday.

Daily cases have surged to record high levels in recent weeks with the spread of the Omicron variant but Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said the new variant would reduce the severity of the pandemic due to a lower hospitalization rate.

"The virus is not as strong as it was. There is no need to be concerned due to the increasing numbers," he said on Twitter, calling on people to get vaccinated.

There were 210 deaths related to coronavirus in the same period, the data showed on Friday, the highest since early December and up from 174 a day earlier.

In late December, daily cases stood at about 20,000, before a surge in infections due to Omicron.



EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
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EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

The European Union called on Iran "to engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process", an EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said on Tuesday.

"This escalation benefits no one, and everybody is concerned by the same thing, which is the spillover effect," El Anouni said.

Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a limited, retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Qatar.