Baku, April 3, AZERTAC

Turkey confirmed Friday that 69 more people died from the novel coronavirus in the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 425, according to Anadolu Agency.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 20,921 as 2,786 more people tested positive for the virus in a day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters after a Coronavirus Science Council teleconference meeting.

So far, a total of 484 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, while 1,251 patients are currently in intensive care, Koca added.

Also, more than 16,160 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, and the number of overall tests carried out so far reached 140,716.

Quickly spread

Warning how quickly the virus spreads, Koca explained: "A person who had no symptoms spread the disease to at least 30 people. Let's call this person a carrier. The carrier was in contact will all his family and friends because he/she had no symptoms. He/she spread it to a person with immune disease, and another person who is 57 years old. Both of these people died.

“Even people who were never in contact with the carrier were affected. This is how serious the situation is."

"Many of these people who tested positive today […] had a social life before being quarantined. The spread of the virus is very easy and quick, but this doesn't have to be a somber fact. What we need to do in order to stop the virus from spreading is obvious. We will keep our distance, we won't be in contact," he added.

Stressing how important it is to reduce young people's mobility, Koca said: "Let me say this to our young people: You don’t know if you’re a carrier. You have to be extra careful in self-isolating."

Later, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a curfew for all people younger than 20.

Koca also said that according to latest analysis, a single person carrying COVID-19 in Istanbul -- Turkey’s most populous city -- on average infects 16 others.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to at least 181 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The pandemic has killed more than 58,000 people, and infected over 1 million globally, while above 225,000 people recovered from the disease, according to figures collated by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.