ANKARA, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish authorities have started COVID-19 antibody tests on 153,000 people across the country, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Wednesday.

"With this study, we will know the level of our immune status in society," Koca said at a press conference.

Turkey sees a partial increase in the number of COVID-19 in central Anatolia, as well as in eastern and southeastern parts of the country, he noted.

Turkey's COVID-19 cases increased by 922 on Wednesday, raising the total cases to 173,036, Koca said.

Meanwhile, 17 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 4,746, the minister said, adding Turkey conducted 36,521 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 2,451,700.

A total of 2,241 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 146,839 in Turkey since the outbreak, Koca said, noting 631 patients are being treated at the intensive care units and 280 intubated.

The average age of the new cases is 36, and the average age of deaths is 71, the minister said.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on March 11 and stepped up the normalization process by easing restrictions as of June 1.

Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19.

The leaders of the two countries held a phone conversation on April 8, pledging to cooperate on combating the pandemic and deepen the bilateral ties.

China has facilitated the procurement of medical supplies by Turkey. On April 10, Chinese doctors and medical experts held a video conference with Turkish counterparts to share China's experiences in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus. Enditem

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