CAIRO, Apr 8 (NNN-MENA) – The COVID-19 pandemic claimed nearly 4,000 lives out of the over 60,000 infected cases in Iran, while more states in the Middle East started to require wearing face masks to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The death toll of the virus in Iran rose by 133 to 3,872 on Tuesday, Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education said, adding, the confirmed cases went up by 2,089 to 62,589.
Also, the number of recovered cases hit 27,039, while 3,987 others are in critical condition.
Iran announced that it will mass-produce homemade equipment, developed to deal with the COVID-19, including diagnostic kits, anti-virus masks and light ventilators.
In Turkey, its health minister reported 3,892 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 34,109.
Deaths from the virus reached 725, after 76 new ones were registered, and 1,582 patients have recovered, while 1,424 others are still being treated at intensive care units.
The foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey, the two worst-hit countries in the Middle East, discussed means to contain the virus’ spread. Both sides extended sympathy over fatalities and vowed readiness for cooperation to tackle the crisis.
The Israeli health ministry announced that, all those aged above six, in Israel, will be required to wear face masks outside homes starting from next Sunday morning.
This obligation does not apply to those who drive alone in their cars or have a significant difficulty in using the mask because of disability.
Also, two employees, who regularly work in the same room will not be required to wear masks, if they keep at least two metres from each other.
Israel so far registered 9,248 COVID-19 cases, of whom 65 have died.
Meanwhile, Morocco made the wearing of face masks compulsory for all people outside their homes, starting from Tuesday.
Any offender will be prosecuted and face legal penalties, ranging from one to three months of prison sentence and a fine between 30 and 130 U.S. dollars, said an official statement.
The country so far registered 1,184 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 90 have died and 93 recovered.
The United Arab Emirates announced 283 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 2,359.
It also confirmed one death from the virus, making the death toll at 12.
Qatari health ministry reported, 225 new infections, bringing the total confirmed cases to 2,057. And 150 patients have recovered from the disease, but six have succumbed to it.
In Algeria, the confirmed cases hiked to 1,468, with 45 newly registered in the past 24 hours. The death toll also went up by 20 to 193 so far, said the country’s health official.
Egyptian Health Ministry confirmed, 128 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths, bringing the total infections in the country to 1,450. The ministry added, the deaths from the disease in the country have reached 94, while 276 others have been cured and left hospitals.
Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced a package of financial stimulus, to limit the impact of the virus outbreak on citizens. The measures include 100 billion Egyptian pounds (6.3 billion U.S. dollars) of soft loans, provided by the central bank with a 5-percent interest rate, for the manufacturing sector.
In Baghdad, the Iraqi Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed one more death from COVID-19 and 91 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,122 and death toll to 65.
Kuwait’s health ministry reported on Tuesday, 78 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 743. So far, 637 patients are still receiving treatment, including 23 in ICU. The number of cured in the country now reached 105.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tunisia rose to 623, including 23 deaths, the Tunisian health minister said on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s number of COVID-19 infections increased on Tuesday by seven cases to 548, while the death toll stood at 19.
Oman’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday, it recorded 40 new cases, bringing the total number of the infections in the country to 371.
Jordan’s health minister said, four cases of the virus were detected in the capital Amman, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 353, and the overall number of recoveries went up to 138.
In Palestine, the infections have risen to 261 cases, including one death and 42 recoveries.
Sudan’s health ministry announced two more cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 14.
The situation in Saudi Arabia also seems getting worse. Its official data showed the total number of cases in the kingdom reached 2,795 on Tuesday, including 615 recoveries and 41 deaths.
The Saudi Health Minister, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, said that, studies estimated that the number of COVID-19 infections in the kingdom in the next few weeks will be between 10,000 and up to 20,000.
“Lack of commitment will lead to an enormous increase in the number of infections,” the minister warned.
The Saudi government allocated 15 billion Saudi riyals (about 3.99 billion U.S. dollars) as financial support to confront the virus’ impact.
Moreover, the Saudi G20 Presidency announced a G20 energy ministers’ virtual meeting will be held on Apr 10, to discuss how to stabilise energy markets, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
This meeting comes at a time as the Saudi G20 Presidency focuses on mitigating the effects of the virus’ spread on people’s health and global economy.
