Turkey confirms coronavirus death toll climbs to 44

Turkey confirmed seven more deaths from coronavirus as of late Tuesday(24 March), bringing the total number of fatalities to 44.

A total of 3,952 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours on people suspected of contracting the virus, and 343 tested positive, bringing the tally of infections to 1,872, Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

“How many people [contracted the virus]? In 195 countries, this question is asked every day. Although we have losses, it is not late for Turkey,” he said, stressing that one of the patients was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the other fatalities were elderly.

While most victims of the virus worldwide have been the elderly, health officials fear they may have contracted it from the young carriers who may be asymptomatic.