People wearing face masks are seen at a supermarket in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 13, 2021. The total number of COVID-19 infections has topped 9 million in Turkey, a country of more than 84 million people, Turkey's health ministry announced on Monday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
ANKARA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The total number of COVID-19 infections has topped 9 million in Turkey, a country of more than 84 million people, Turkey's health ministry announced on Monday.
The country has reported 18,796 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, increasing the total number of infections to 9,058,975. The number of persons who have died as a result of the virus has risen by 171 to 79,322, with 23,242 additional patients recovering in the last 24 hours, according to the ministry.
More than 350,000 tests were conducted over the past day, it said.
Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.
More than 56 million people have received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while nearly 51 million had got their second doses. Turkey has so far administered about 121.8 million doses including the booster jabs. Enditem
A woman wearing a face mask shops at a supermarket in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 13, 2021. The total number of COVID-19 infections has topped 9 million in Turkey, a country of more than 84 million people, Turkey's health ministry announced on Monday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
