ANKARA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkey confirmed 1,183 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the total diagnosed cases to 243,180, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Meanwhile, 15 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,873, Koca tweeted.

Turkish health professionals conducted 61,716 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 5,387,751, he said.

A total of 1,185 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 226,155 in Turkey since the outbreak.

There has been a 32-percent decrease in hospital admissions for the past three days, the minister said.

But the increase in the number of heavily ill patients, which is one of the most important indicators of the struggle process against the virus, continues, 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.