Ankara, Aug 3 (IANS): Turkey's number of serious ill COVID-19 patients seems to be under control, Turkish health minister said.

The COVID-19 cases increased by 987 in Turkey, raising the total diagnosed cases to 232,856, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients is 8.5 per cent, the number of seriously ill patients is 582, he stated.

Meanwhile, 18 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,728, Koca said, adding that a total of 978 patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 216,494 in Turkey since the outbreak.

Turkish health professionals conducted 40,247 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 4,885,916, he added.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on March 11.

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

Chinese doctors and medical experts held video conferences with Turkish counterparts to share China's experience in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.