Thursday's figures from the Turkish Health Ministry show that Turkey has the second-highest number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world.

The country has diagnosed 4,801 new cases in the last 24 hours, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at his daily briefing, a figure surpassed only by the United States' 5,603 new cases.

The minister reported 125 new deaths after contracting coronavirus, bringing the toll to 1,643. A total of 1,415 patients have recovered since Koca’s last announcement.

Koca had said on Wednesday that Turkey’s infection rate was stabilising, suggesting that the outbreak could be under control.

But Sinan Adıyaman, head of the Turkish Medical Association (TBB), warned that, in contrast to the ministry’s claims, the scale of the outbreak remained unclear because diagnostic tests only had 55-60 percent accuracy rates and many patients had died with COVID-19 symptoms, but had been excluded from the death toll.

“We receive information based on our members’ observations from across the country that the figures for cases and deaths are far higher,” Adıyaman said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had said on Tuesday that outbreaks were growing in Britain and Turkey.

"In fact, the WHO prediction is more accurate for Turkey. Because it is too early to say that we have taken control yet, even though healthcare professionals are working devotedly," Adıyaman said.

(Times Turkish time - GMT+3)

23:40 – Health Ministry’s launches mental health app for healthcare workers

The Turkish Health Ministry launched an application to provide online therapy to medical personnel tirelessly fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Yeni Şafak reported.

The “Mental Health Support System” (RUHSAD) app will provide healthcare professionals in high-stress environments and their children with the opportunity to make a video call with volunteer mental health specialists, the newspaper said.

23:10 – Turkey implementing weekend curfew as cheap option, president's spokesman says

The Turkish government decided to impose lockdowns in Turkish cities on weekends only because "the cost of a full lockdown for Turkey would have been much higher,” Turkish Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın told nationwide news channel NTV.

The Turkish Interior Ministry ordered a two-day curfew last weekend, which the Turkish President later announced would be repeated this weekend. Turkey has also imposed a curfew on those under 20 and over 65 years, but has come short of ordering a full lockdown for any city.

Kalın said that the Turkish government based its policy on scientific data, but opposition politicians including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu have repeatedly asked for a full lockdown.

22:50 – More than 300 people detained for “provocative” coronavirus posts online, interior ministry says

Turkish authorities have apprehended 303 online users accused of posting false coronavirus news and information on social media, Karar reported.

The judicial process for the other 462 people accused of posting provocative content is still ongoing, the news outlet said, citing the Interior Ministry.

22:15 – Turkish parliament members test negative for COVID-19

All Turkish deputies present at parliament on Thursday tested negative in the trial run of a new coronavirus screening procedure, Karar reported.

The new protocol will be applied to the broader legislative staff if the trial proves sufficient, the Islamist newspaper said, citing parliamentary officials.

Thermal cameras were installed at entrances and anyone entering parliament had their temperature checked beforehand.

17:10 - Schools will not reopen over summer to make up for time lost to coronavirus – education minister

Schools in Turkey will not reopen in the summer to make up for classes that were cancelled due to the coronavirus, Education Minister Ziya Selçuk said.

The minister told CNN Türk that additional classes would be held at some point, but that education was continuing through distance learning facilities provided by the ministry, and the extra classes would not match the amount of time that schools have been closed.

“The compensatory classes are complementary” to the distance learning classes, he said. “So the comments that schools will be open for two months over the summer teaching children is definitely not true.”

Education Minister Ziya Selçuk (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

15:20 - Turkish Medical Association head poses 21 questions to health ministry

Sinan Adıyaman, the head of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), has posed 21 questions to the Health Ministry seeking detailed answers over its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, news site Diken said.

Adıyaman asked why the ministry had not been using the diagnostic codes recommended by the World Health Organization, and said that a failure to use them was making it impossible to learn the scale of the outbreak, or to make accurate comparisons.

He also asked why tests were not carried out by provincial centres and how many types of screening tests were being done, and posed a range of questions on the details of recorded symptoms and test results by geography, age and gender.

14:40 - Turkey among countries singled out by WHO for ‘tempering’ positive COVID-19 news

Dr Hans Kluge, the World Heath Organization’s regional director for Europe, mentioned Turkey as one of the countries that had “tempered” the recent positive signs over the COVID-19 outbreak, the Press Association said.

“Of the 10 countries in the region with the highest numbers of cases, there have been optimistic signs in terms of the climbing numbers in Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland in recent weeks,” Kluge said.

“But small positive signals in some countries are tempered by sustained or increased levels of incidents in other countries, including in the UK, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.”

“Turkey’s situation remains serious,” news site Diken reported him as saying.

14:00 - Joint statement by 11 opposition mayors calls on the government to take more action

Eleven city mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) released a joint statement calling on the government to adopt a range of measures to help them deal with the coronavirus outbreak, Cumhuriyet said.

The statement – signed by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, among others – reiterated previous calls on the government to enforce a stricter lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.

They also called for the government to take more economic measures to support the provision of municipal services such as financial support for public transport, limiting VAT on municipal goods, services and construction work, and the postponement of debts due in 2020.

They also called on the government to speed up mask distribution.

13:00 - Market inspections lead to 342 traders and customers facing penalties

Turkey’s Interior Ministry said 342 traders and customers in markets were facing penalties for not complying with measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, news site Diken said.

Rules such as maintaining three metres between stalls and the mandatory use of face masks have been applied to street markets.

The ministry said it had conducted market inspections in 772 neighbourhoods across 81 cities.

12:15 - Syrian doctor dies in Turkey after contracting COVID-19

Muhammed Şamaa, a Syrian doctor living and working in Turkey, has died after contracting the COVID-19 coronavirus, Anadolu news agency said.

Şamaa, a specialist in internal medicine, fled the civil war in Syria in 2011. After a stint working in Qatar, he began working at a migrant health centre in Istanbul around two years ago.

Şamaa, 45, was married and the father of an 11-month-old child. He was treated in hospital for about 15 days before succumbing to the virus.

Mehdi Davut, head of the Syrian Associations Platform, expressed sorrow for Şamaa's death and praised his work. Davut said there were around 650 Syrian doctors working in migrant health centres in Turkey, but another 400 were unemployed but keen to work voluntarily during the pandemic. “Syrian physicians want to contribute to Turkey's fight against the coronavirus," he said.

11:50 - Turkey’s family ministry will pay private nursing home and disabled centre fees

Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policies Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk has announced that her ministry will pay the fees for elderly and disabled patients in private nursing homes and care facilities, Anadolu news agency said.

Along with the hashtag "We Will Succeed Together", Selçuk said on her Twitter account that this announcement would apply regardless of the patients’ income status or level of disability.

11:30 - Police deny social media claims of more curfews

Turkey’s General Directorate of Security (EGM) has denied claims on social media that curfews will be imposed between April 23-26 and May 1-3, Anadolu news agency reported.

The EGM said in a statement that “some social media accounts have made claims that the curfew will be applied by the Ministry of Interior for the next week between 23-24-25-26 April and 01-02-03 May. These allegations certainly do not reflect the truth." It added that investigations have been launched against those making false claims.

Bazı sosyal medya hesaplarından İçişleri Bakanlığınca önümüzdeki hafta 23-24-25-26 Nisan tarihleri için sokağa çıkma yasağı uygulanacağı iddialarına ilişkin aşağıdaki açıklamanın yapılmasına gerek duyulmuştur;



Ayrıntılı bilgi için; https://t.co/T83FTWjKnF pic.twitter.com/YYsttCC3z1 — Türk Polis Teşkilatı (@EmniyetGM) April 15, 2020

A strict 48-hour curfew in 31 Turkish provinces was imposed last weekend and will again be in force this weekend from midnight on Friday.

11:05 - Turkish health expert warns government over coronavirus optimism

A Turkish health expert has warned Health Minister Fahrettin Koca against being overly optimistic about the status of the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey, news site Artı Gerçek said.

On Wednesday, Koca had given assurances that Turkey’s infection rate has stabilised and that the coronavirus was under control.

But Çağatay Güler, a public health specialist at Hacettepe University, said: "Such statements can create a 'false sense of trust' and cause complacency in society."

Güler said that it was not possible to trace many people who might have been exposed to the coronavirus. Güler also said that banning the sale of face masks and the lack of coordinated distribution, along with government attempts to prevent municipalities from raising donations, would negatively affect public health.

10:40 - Parliament goes on 10-day break

Turkey’s parliament will go on a 10-day break due to the coronavirus, news site Artı Gerçek said.

It will meet on April 23 – Turkey’s National Sovereignty and Children's Day – but it will not sit as previously scheduled between now and May 5, when it will re-open.

10:15 - Turkey's parliament allows wealth fund to take over distressed firms

Turkey’s parliament has passed legislation allowing the sovereign wealth fund to take over companies in distress.

The Turkiye Wealth Fund, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will be able to inject cash or acquire controlling stakes in firms considered to be of strategic importance, according to the new law, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The legislation, passed within a package of measures designed to help the economy weather the impact of COVID-19, exempts the wealth fund from some rules laid down by market regulators. It will not be required to compensate minority shareholders for losses within a certain period should it pursue policies affecting a company’s profitability.

10:00 - Turkish firms can put employees on unpaid leave for three months under new legislation

Turkish firms will be able to put employees on unpaid leave for three months, according to a draft law that is part of measures to deal with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 coronavirus, news site Diken said.

However, employers will not be able to terminate any employment or service contracts for a period of three months, except in cases of legal or ethical non-compliance.

09:30 - Turkey steps up punishments for violence against health workers

Turkey has passed a regulation increasing penalties by 50 percent for violence against healthcare workers, to give them added protection during the coronavirus outbreak, news site Diken said.

According to the regulation, the increased penalties will be imposed in accordance with the relevant laws covering violence, threats, and insults against staff, and where staff are prevented from carrying out their duties, in public and private health institutions, organisations, and among auxiliary health personnel.

There will also be no delay in the application of the penalties.

00:15 - Students to continue education during summer

Primary and secondary school students will continue their education during the summer period, T24 said.

Distant lectures will continue in the summer vacation period, meanwhile, the Education Ministry could shorten teachers' leave time, according to a new law aiming to compensate disrupted lectures.

However, the education minister said students will still have a break from school despite extra lessons.

"There is no question of the summer holiday suspension. Children will have a summer vacation," the minister said on Twitter.

TBMM’de kabul edilen “Telafi eğitimi düzenlemesi” kısmi ve hızlandırılmış bir “telafi” sürecini tanımlamaktadır. Dönemin bütün bir şekilde tekrarı veya yaz tatilinin ortadan kalkması söz konusu bile değildir. Çocuklarımızın yaz tatilini doyasıya yaşamasını ümit ediyoruz. — Ziya Selçuk (@ziyaselcuk) April 15, 2020

22:50 - Ankara mayor provides financial aid to 800 scrap paper collectors

The opposition mayor of capital Ankara has formally recognised scrap paper collectors, providing financial aid to 800 families involved in the line of work.

A scrap paper collectors association announced the move on Twitter, saying the mayor, through the move, had "formally recognised the employees, who pay taxes, but whose job is not acknowledged."Mansur on March 22 had banned paper scrap collection, which effectively functions as an unofficial recycling service, as part of the city’s measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.