Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced 2,069 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 5,698 in the country.

In addition, 17 deaths from the coronavirus were reported on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths to 92, Koca said at a press conference.

A total of 7,533 tests were conducted on Friday on suspected cases, he added, highlighting the need for further measures against the pandemic.

ABU DHABI, Mar 28 (NNN-WAM) – The Ministry of Interior has clarified that the National Disinfection Programme, slated for execution over the weekend starting from Thursday, Mar 26, will take place from 8.00 pm to 6.00 am every day.

The movement of traffic and people will go on as usual during the day, but will be restricted during the time of disinfection, and public transport and metro trains will be fully stopped during the disinfection.

TUNIS, March 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Employees at a Tunisian factory are churning out 50,000 face masks a day and other protective medical gear after opting to go into lockdown at work.

The 150 workers, mainly women, have isolated themselves at the Consomed factory for a month.

They were spurred on by patriotism as the country battles coronavirus, their manager Hamza Alouini said.

Employee Khawla Rebhi said she greatly missed her family, but her colleagues’ good cheer provided some compensation.

TRIPOLI, March 28 (NNN-XINHUA) — Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that the suspension of oil exports after the closure of oil fields and ports has caused a loss of more than 3.6 billion U.S. dollars so far.

“The current levels of production are 96,702 barrels a day. Forced restriction of production has resulted in financial losses exceeding 3.6 billion dollars since Jan. 17, 2020. These are funds that could have been spent on medical supplies and equipment to help all Libyans deal with COVID-19,” NOC said in a statement.

ISTANBUL, Mar 28 (NNN-ANADOLU) — Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that, all international flights would be cancelled, as part of the fight against COVID-19.

Announcing new measures against the spread of the outbreak during a televised live broadcast, Erdogan also noted that, inter-city travel across the country would be subject to the permission of governors in each province.

“A flexible working system will be implemented with minimum personnel both in private and public sectors,” Erdogan said.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Standing over the still body of an intubated 5-year-old boy wearing nothing but a plastic diaper, an Iranian health care worker in a hazmat suit and mask begged the public for just one thing: Stop drinking industrial alcohol over fears about the new coronavirus.

The boy, now blind after his parents gave him toxic methanol in the mistaken belief it protects against the virus, is just one of hundreds of victims of an epidemic inside the pandemic now gripping Iran.

27 Mar 2020; MEMO: Journalist Ron Ben-Yishai, who has been covering Israel’s wars since the 1967 Six-Day War, has warned of an increase in violence among Israelis that could mount to civil war due in part to the public’s growing distrust in the government and its leaders.

27 Mar 2020; MEMO: The Saudi public prosecution said on Wednesday that an expatriate worker could face the death penalty for intentionally spitting on shopping carts in a mall last week despite knowing that he has the coronavirus, reported Gulf News.

27 Mar 2020; MEMO: Israeli settlers attacked Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank Thursday night, reported Haaretz, throwing three Molotov cocktails at a Border Police vehicle outside Yitzhar settlement.

One of the Molotov cocktails hit the vehicle, “causing light damage”, and there were no casualties.

27 Mar 2020; MEMO: Jordan has eased its indefinite curfew and will allow people to leave their homes on foot to visit vegetable shops, bakeries and pharmacies, after the nationwide curfew caused chaos, officials announced on Tuesday.