The total number of coronavirus cases in Turkey has risen above 300,000, the health ministry said, as authorities struggle to contain a resurgence in the outbreak.

The ministry said there were 1,538 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 301,348. The death toll rose by 68 to 7,445.

President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday the government needs to ramp up measures to curb the rise in cases, which has also prompted protests from doctors who say official data underplays the scale of the outbreak.