CAIRO, July 23 (NNN-MENA) – The tally of COVID-19 cases in Iran exceeded 281,000 on Wednesday, while Saudi Arabia’s tally surpassed 258,000.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, recorded 2,586 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 281,413.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said, the pandemic so far claimed the lives of 14,853 Iranians, up by 219 in the past 24 hours.
On Wednesday, Saudi Health Ministry announced 2,331 new cases and 44 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the kingdom to 258,156 and the death toll to 2,601.
The total number of recoveries from the disease rose to 210,398, the ministry said.
Iraq recorded 2,706 cases during the day, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 99,865.
It also reported 92 more deaths, raising the death toll to 4,042.
The Iraqi Health Ministry said on Wednesday that, it assigned two centres in Baghdad to test infection for travellers, just a day before the reopening of airports.
Turkey’s COVID-19 cases increased by 902 on Wednesday, while the total diagnosed cases climbed to 222,402, Turkish Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, said.
Meanwhile, 19 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,545, Koca tweeted.
Egypt reported on Wednesday 41 deaths, the lowest in nearly six weeks, bringing the death toll to 4,440, said the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, 667 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed, raising the total number registered in the country to 89,745, Health Ministry spokesman, Khaled Megahed, said in a statement.
It is also the second week in a row for Egypt’s COVID-19 daily infections to fall below 1,000, as a record 1,774 infections were seen on June 19.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Egyptian government said, it will further ease restrictions imposed on cafes and restaurants from July 26, ahead of the Islamic Eid al-Adha (Sacrifice Feast) that falls at the end of the month, allowing them to increase their capacity from 25 percent to 50 percent and work until midnight instead of 10 p.m. local time.
Kuwait reported 751 new COVID-19 cases and five more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 61,185 and the death toll to 417.
Palestine registered 356 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 11,280, which includes 2,142 recoveries and 68 deaths.
Qatar’s health ministry on Wednesday announced 441 new infections, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 107,871.
The United Arab Emirates announced 236 new cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 57,734. The total recoveries rose to 50,354 while the death toll increased to 342.– NNN-MENA
