ISTANBUL — More than half of Turkish citizens over 18 years of age are now fully vaccinated, the nation’s health minister announced Wednesday. New COVID-19 cases remain near a three-month high, with 27,356 new infections reported the same day.

Over the last week, the number of recorded daily cases hovered around 25,000, rates not seen since early May, when a 17-day nationwide lockdown was imposed to stem surging coronavirus infections. A combination of social distancing rules and curfews this spring helped bring daily case rates down to about 5,000 in late June, leading state officials to lift most restrictions and pursue normalization measures on July 1.

Yet new infections are surging once more in Turkey, as they are globally, with some health experts saying the current spike is most likely caused by the more infectious Delta variant. The link remains unconfirmed as the nation’s Health Ministry has yet to publicize detailed data on COVID-19 strains currently active in Turkey, said Dr. Vedat Bulut, head of the executive committee of the Turkish Medical Association.

“Variations cannot be known yet in Turkey because the government and Health Ministry have not declared the presence of variations by cities or provinces,” Bulut told Al-Monitor.