ISTANBUL — Speaking at a weekly press briefing Wednesday, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca acknowledged that data published by the state is only a partial record of confirmed COVID-19 cases, sparking a backlash from citizens and medical groups who have criticized the government’s lack of transparency throughout the pandemic.

Koca said reported cases were limited to patients with symptoms being cared for in hospitals or elsewhere, and excluded asymptomatic individuals who tested positive for the virus.

“Not all cases are patients because there are those who show no symptoms at all even though their tests come back positive.” Koca said Wednesday. “These make up the vast majority [of cases].”

The statements come after Murat Emir, a lawmaker with Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party, said he obtained data Wednesday showing the number of new infections were nearly 20 times those reported by the Health Ministry on a single day last month. Sharing a document alleged to be from the ministry’s Laboratory Information Management System, Emir said 29,377 new COVID-19 cases had been confirmed on Sept. 10, but government data showed just 1,512 cases were reported that day.