Virus cases pass 15,000 in Turkey

Turkey said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surpassed 15,000 and the virus has now spread to all of the country's 81 provinces.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also told reporters on Wednesday that 63 more patients have died of the virus, raising the death toll in Turkey to 277.

The number of confirmed cases now stands at 15,679, Koca said, with 2,148 more new infections detected in the past 24 hours.

The Turkish government had refrained from providing a breakdown of COVID-19 cases by region, saying it wanted to prevent people from traveling to areas that were free of the virus.

However, with infections now registered in all provinces, Koca revealed for the first time that 60 percent of the cases are located in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.