Turkey virus death toll reaches 4,000

• The total number of reported infections now stands at 144,749, making Turkey the ninth most COVID-19 affected country.

ISTANBUL: Turkey's coronavirus death toll topped 4,000 on Thursday, as the number of confirmed cases reached nearly 145,000.

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 55 more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours while there were 1,635 new cases.

The total number of reported infections now stands at 144,749, making Turkey the ninth most COVID-19 affected country.

The 83-million strong country is gradually moving to a "new normal" as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the coronavirus pandemic is "under control".

The number of deaths per day in Turkey has fallen below 100 in recent weeks.

Barbers and hair salons as well as shopping malls opened on Monday under strict hygiene rules.

The government has however announced a four-day lockdown in Istanbul and other major cities from Saturday.

Since the start of the outbreak, Turkey has had all-day weekend curfews in 31 cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.

This week, Tuesday is a public holiday, so the government decided to extend the weekend curfew until then.