Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca briefed members of the parliament on Thursday about the latest developments in the country’s battle against coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said that Turkey currently has test laboratories in 16 provinces out of 81, adding that the number of laboratories will increase to 36 in 25 provinces in a short time.

According to the minister, Turkey has conducted more than 10 thousand coronavirus tests so far and aims to carry out 10 to 15 thousand tests daily. He thus expressed the possibility of an increase in the number of confirmed cases.

Koca remarked that Turkey-made coronavirus testing kits will be available for use in the next one or two days.

"As of today, 18 labs are conducting tests in coordination with two university foundations," Koca further said, adding that the country has 99,797 single-bed rooms that may be used for isolation or intensive care for patients.

Turkey has so far confirmed two deaths from coronavirus and 191 cases of infection, according to a statement made by the minister last night.

In the meantime, the cause of death of an 80-year-old former commander of the Turkish army couldn’t be established. The minister said that former commander of the ground forces of Turkey, Aytaç Yalman, might have died of Covid-19.

According to the minister, Yalman, who had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease before, was admitted to a hospital in Ankara four days ago and he died six hours later.

“Despite the fact that he tested negative for coronavirus, the people he was in touch with were subject to a test as his death raised suspicion over Covid-19 due to his disease. Some people from his surroundings, including his wife, have tested positive. Yet, it could also be that a patient might test negative before and positive in the coming days. We are getting know to this virus only now. One of the patients infected with the virus tested positive on the first day, then switched to negative on the third day while in intensive care, and then tested back positive after 7 days. As some people from his surroundings tested positive, some doctors comment that the cause of death might be coronavirus. If this is the case, then the number of deaths from coronavirus has risen to 3,” said the minister.