Covid-19 cases surge 30% in Turkey as Omicron variant spreading
Daily new coronavirus cases in Turkey surged 30% on Monday to 26,099, health ministry data showed, the highest percentage rise this year, as the health minister warned about the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, Reuters reported.
The minister said the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has begun spreading in Turkey, noting that the strain is responsible for more than 10 percent of new infections in the country’s populous cities. First cases of Omicron in mid-December in Istanbul and the western province of İzmir.
Data from the Health Ministry have shown that the number of daily infections still have been around 20,000 since the first cases of Omicron were detected in the country. On Dec 25, the Health Ministry reported 20,470 new cases and 145 deaths from the virus.