Ankara, May 31 (IANS) Turkey has announced that it will resume domestic flights from June 1 as part of measures towards normalization amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first flights resume from Istanbul to major provinces including Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and Trabzon, and other cities will be resumed gradually, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said in a statement on Saturday.

On the same day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported 983 new cases and 26 deaths, reports Xinhua news agency.

The total number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 163,103, with 4,515 deaths, the minister tweeted.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case in the country on March 11 and the country is now stepping up for normalization.

--IANS ksk/