CAIRO, Mar 9 (NNN-XINHUA) – A team of Chinese experts arrived in Iraq to help fight the spread of COVID-19. As the epidemic continued raging in the Middle East, Egypt reported the first death from the disease on Sunday.
The seven-member Chinese team, which was sent by the Red Cross Society of China and the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, arrived in the Iraqi capital on Saturday evening. They will stay in Iraq for a month to offer help in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, which has been nearly under control in China, after over one-month nationwide campaign to stop its spread.
“China has gained great experience in combating coronavirus. Iraqis can benefit from its prevention, control, detection and treatment of the disease,” Tao Zhongquan, leader of the expert team, said.
For his part, Jasim al-Falahi, Iraqi deputy health minister, thanked the Chinese government for its help, which he said, will “enhance prevention and control of the coronavirus epidemic in Iraq.”
This was the second team of Chinese experts sent to the Middle East to help fight the epidemic, since the first team arrived in Iran on Feb 29.
Iran, the hardest-hit country by the epidemic in the Middle East, also offered help to Iraq. In meeting with Iraqi Health Minister, Jaafar Alawi, in Baghdad, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said, Iran was ready to share its experience with Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Health Ministry announced two new deaths from the virus and six new cases of infection, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 60, of whom six have died.
In Tehran, Iran announced that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 6,566, up from 5,823 on Saturday, of whom 194 have died, up from 145.
Richard Brennan, emergency director for the Regional Office of World Health Organisation, recognised Iran’s full commitment to dealing with the virus, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Brennan made the remarks during a visit to the Iranian holy city of Qom, which reported the first COVID-19 cases on Feb 19.
Iran’s flag carrier, IranAir, said Sunday, it suspended all flights to and from Europe, due to the “restrictions” imposed by Europe “for unknown reasons.”
In Cairo, Egyptian Health Ministry confirmed the first death from the disease in the country, which was a 60-year-old German man, who died in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Hurghada. He travelled to Hurghada from Upper Egypt’s Luxor city, where 45 of the 48 confirmed cases were detected.
In Beirut, the Rafic Hariri Hospital announced four more COVID-19 cases, bringing to 32 the total number of confirmed cases in Lebanon.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia also announced four new cases, bringing to 11 the total number of confirmed cases in the kingdom.
In a bid to curb the spread of the virus, the Saudi Education Ministry announced the suspension of schools and universities in the kingdom, starting today, Monday.
In Tunis, Tunisian Health Ministry announced the second confirmed case of COVID-19, who was a 65-year-old Tunisian national, who returned from Italy recently.
In Algiers, Algerian Health Ministry announced a new case, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 20, including 17 from a single family.
The ministry called on Algerian citizens, who intend to travel to countries with the epidemic, to “postpone their trips unless absolutely necessary and they must take all preventive measures to avoid infection.”
In Amman, Jordanian Health Minister, Saad Jaber, told reporters that the government decided to temporarily ban vacations abroad for expatriate workers and foreign students studying in Jordan, to control possible outbreak of the virus.
School trips abroad and foreign travels by government staff will also be suspended, he added.
In Israel, the Ministry of Health announced that 14 more Israelis were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients in Israel to 39.– NNN-XINHUA
