"Today we have the first death from coronavirus, an 89-year-old patient who had contact with a patient infected in China has died. The total number of infected people is now 98", Koca told reporters Tuesday.
Koca said Monday the number of coronavirus-infected people in Turkey had increased over the day to 47 from 18. Three of those infected returned from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, the minister said, adding that the risk of infection from abroad remains high.
The COVID-19 was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province last December and has since spread to more than 150 countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) later declared the COVID-19 a pandemic.
Globally, more than 167,500 people have contracted the new coronavirus and more than 6,600 people have died, according to the latest data provided by the WHO.