Fahrettin Koca

Turkey and Russia agreed June 2 to cooperate to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus and conduct joint clinical trials.

The Turkish Health Ministry said in a statement that Health Minister Fahrettin Koca held a video conference call with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Murashko.

Turkey on May 31 opened an emergency hospital in the metropolis Istanbul as part of the country's continued fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

The new Yeşilköy Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener Emergency Hospital was named after a Turkish doctor and academic who died due to the virus on May 3.

Restaurants, cafes and parks opened on June 1 while the last inter-city travel curbs have been removed as Turkey enters the phase of "new normal" amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The government has been gradually rolling back the restrictions for some time initially imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 160,000 and killed over 4,500 people in the country.

Turkey on May 29 opened a second emergency hospital in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul as part of the country's continued fight against coronavirus.

The new Dr. Feriha Öz Emergency Hospital in Istanbul is named after a world-renowned Turkish pathologist who was claimed by the virus this April.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said elderly people over the age of 65 and young people under 20 will have to "wait a little more" for restrictions to ease.

The Turkish public largely followed preventive measures against the coronavirus, and a mobile application will be used to track inter-city travels, the country's health minister said on May 20. The app became ready for use on May 21.

The Turkish public largely followed preventive measures against coronavirus and a mobile application will be used to track inter-city travels, the country's health minister said on May 20. 

Any complacency in the fight against the coronavirus may have serious consequences for the entire country, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has warned, referring to the "butterfly effect."

"A small event may trigger a chain of events as the spread of the coronavirus, which generated from China's Wuhan, to the entire world," Koca wrote on Twitter.

Turkey has registered a constant recovery in week five since the first COVID-19 case was reported and the pandemic is under control, the health minister said on May 13. 

Turkey would implement PCR tests on foreign tourists arriving in Turkey as part of measures against novel coronavirus, as the government plans to resume tourism activities in late May, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on May 13.