CAIRO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran announced on Wednesday 3,582 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of confirmed infections to 457,219. Meanwhile, Iraq's tally surged to 362,981.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said at her daily briefing that out of the 3,582 new cases, 1,567 patients required hospitalization.
She also said 183 deaths related to COVID-19 were registered between Tuesday and Wednesday, which takes the total death toll in Iran over the pandemic to 26,169 so far.
Israel's Ministry of Health reported 8,568 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 245,494. The number of death cases increased to 1,569, with 41 new fatalities. The number of recoveries rose to 174,506, with 6,702 new recoveries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a meeting of his coronavirus cabinet on Wednesday that the exit from the COVID-19 lockdown is expected to last six to 12 months.
"The exit from this lockdown will be slow and gradual and it can last from half a year to a year," he said.
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported 4,691 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide infections to 362,981.
The ministry reported in a statement 59 new deaths from the infectious disease, taking the death toll to 9,181. Meanwhile, 3,385 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 292,197.
Jawad al-Musawi, a member of the Iraqi parliamentary health committee, expected that Iraq will witness a new wave of COVID-19 infections during October and November.
Al-Musawi added that the Iraqi authorities might reimpose a full curfew if the number of infections rises to the point the ministry cannot control.
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday reported 418 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections in the kingdom to 334,605.
The Saudi Ministry of Health also reported 29 new deaths from the disease, taking the death toll to 4,768, while the total number of recoveries increased by 612 to 319,154, while Turkey reported 1,391 new cases, bringing the tally to 318,663, and 65 new deaths, raising the death toll to 8,195.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Wednesday 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 94,190.
At the same time, 1,186 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 83,724, the UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said. It also confirmed three more deaths, pushing up the country's death toll to 419.
Morocco announced 2,470 new COVID-19 infections, taking the tally of cases in the North African country since March 2 to 123,653.
The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 102,715 after 2,462 more were added, while the death toll rose by 42 to 2,194, the ministry of health said in a statement. The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.8 percent and the recovery rate is 83.1 percent.
Oman called for "equitable distribution of resources" to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the tally of infections in the sultanate reached 98,585 and the death toll rose to 935.
"The pandemic has brought major changes to our daily life," Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi said during his virtual address to the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.
The Qatari health ministry announced 227 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 125,760, while the fatalities remained at 214 for the fifth consecutive day.
Kuwait reported 614 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 105,182 and the death toll to 610, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also announced the recovery of 639 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 96,688.
Egypt recorded late on Tuesday 124 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 103,079, said the Egyptian Health Ministry.
The ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said 13 patients died from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 5,9140, and 508 others were cured and discharged from hospitals, taking the total recoveries to 96,094.
Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased by 1,257 cases to 39,634 while the death toll went up by six to 367, the Health Ministry reported.
Health experts have been warning the Lebanese people about the further increase in infections as hospitals' capacity for hosting a big number of patients is limited.
A senior Palestinian official announced that the health ministry recorded 426 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem to 50,541.
The health ministry also recorded eight more deaths and 696 recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 41,228 and the death toll to 368, said Mai al-Kaila, Palestinian minister of health.
The National Center for Disease Control of Libya reported 511 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country so far to 34,525.
The Center said in a statement that it received a total of 2,058 suspected samples, of which 511 were tested positive, adding 459 patients have recovered and 11 died. Enditem
