New coronavirus cases in Turkey increase fivefold over two weeks

New  COVID-19 cases in Turkey have increased almost fivefold over the last two weeks, the nation’s Health Ministry said on Sunday.

"From June 27 to July 3 alone, the number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey increased by 114% compared with a week earlier. There’s been an almost fivefold growth over the past two weeks," the ministry said in a statement.

The Turkish health minister has called on people older than 50 years to get a new shot of a vaccine if they had made the latest shot more than six months ago.

A health association in Turkey last week urged the government to reintroduce some coronavirus restrictions due the increase in new cases. The group is calling for a return of mandatory face masks indoors, vaccination of children, more testing and to increase the frequency of publishing coronavirus updates from weekly to daily.

Turkey canceled mandatory wearing of face masks at the end of May as the situation stabilized, but the disease has started to take a bigger toll again since mid-June.