File photo: VCG

ANKARA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkey on Saturday announced that it will resume domestic flights as part of measures towards normalization.

The first flights will be resumed 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 the same day, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported 983 new cases and 26 deaths.

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

Turkey conducted 39,230 tests for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, he added.

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

Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19.

The leaders of the two countries held a phone conversation on April 8, pledging to cooperate on combating the pandemic and deepen the bilateral ties.

China has facilitated the procurement of medical supplies by Turkey. On April 10, Chinese doctors and medical experts held a video conference with Turkish counterparts to share China's experiences in treating the coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.