ISTANBUL — Turkey has imposed quarantines on residential areas in 18 provinces across the country as it grapples with the spread of the novel coronavirus. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks to stay at home to bring a quick end to the outbreak that has claimed 168 lives, but also said the nation could not afford to fully halt economic activity.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter today that 37 people died of COVID-19 and 1,610 people were diagnosed with the illness over the past 24 hours. The country now has 10,827 confirmed cases of the illness.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows Turkey has one of the world’s highest infection rates, with cases doubling every two days. More than 770,000 people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since it was first reported in humans in China in December, and deaths worldwide now exceed 37,000.

Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting he conducted by video conference that citizens not obligated to work “can keep themselves at home under voluntary quarantine,” which would make a return to life as usual “that much quicker.”