Istanbul Mayor Tests Positive For COVID-19

The mayor of Turkey's metropolis Istanbul has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an official announced Saturday.

"The health condition of our mayor, whose treatment process started at the hospital, is good," Murat Ongun, spokesman of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, said on Twitter.

On Friday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that Turkey's largest city housed 40% of coronavirus cases in the country.

Turkish authorities had announced 2,165 additional COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours on Friday -- topping 2,000 for the third straight day.

The overall patient count now stands at 357,693, with 1,493 recoveries in the past day, raising the tally to 311,520, according to Health Ministry data. -