People wearing face masks walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)
-- Iran sees highest daily COVID-19 death toll with 337 killed;
-- Iraq's total confirmed cases exceed 430,000;
-- Saudi Arabia's total number of infections rises to 342,583;
-- Turkey's total infections near 350,000.
CAIRO, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday saw the highest single-day COVID-19 death toll since the virus outbreak in the country, while Iraq's total confirmed cases have exceeded 430,000.
Iran's health ministry on Monday reported 337 death cases over the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total deaths to 30,712 in the country, Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily briefing.
Lari noted that the authorities recorded 4,251 new overnight infections on Monday, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 534,631.
She said that a total of 431,360 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 4,771 remain in intensive care units.
Following the COVID-19 resurgence in Iran over the past weeks, the health authorities have reintroduced strict protective measures, including intercity travel bans in some regions of the country and compulsory use of face masks in the capital Tehran. They have urged people to avoid unnecessary outings.
CT technician Hanan Jamal works at al-Shifaa Center in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct, 12, 2020.(Xinhua)
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported on Monday 4,044 new COVID-19 cases, raising the nationwide total number to 430,678.
The ministry also reported 63 more deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 10,317 in the country. It also said 3,055 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 363,532.
The ministry has attributed the increase of COVID-19 infections to the lack of public compliance to the health instructions and the stronger testing capacity with the increase of labs in Baghdad and other provinces.
Saudi Arabia health ministry announced on Monday 381 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number in the kingdom to 342,583.
The number of recoveries rose to 328,895 after 357 new ones were reported, while the death toll from the disease reached 5,201 with the registration of 16 new fatalities.
Saudi Arabian Health Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah on Monday warned of a rise in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks if precautionary measures are not followed.
Saudi Arabia has controlled the spread of coronavirus with a series of steps, including full and partial curfews and suspension of many activities.
People wearing face masks walk on a street in Ankara, Turkey, on Oct. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
Turkey confirmed 2,026 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 349,519, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.
Meanwhile, 75 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 9,371.
A total of 1,424 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 305,427 in Turkey since the outbreak.
The number of COVID-19 infections in Israel rose to 304,876 on Monday, after the addition of 1,767 new cases, said the Israeli health ministry.
The death toll reached 2,263, with 54 new fatalities. The number of patients in serious condition decreased from 669 to 634, out of 1,125 patients currently hospitalized, according to the ministry.
The total number of recoveries reached 278,394, with 10,301 new ones, while active cases dropped to 24,209 in Israel.
People wearing face masks walk at a shopping mall in Farwaniya Governorate, Kuwait, Oct. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Asad)
Kuwait on Monday reported 686 new COVID-19 cases and nine more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 116,832 and the death toll to 710 in the country, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also announced the recovery of 746 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 108,606.
The Qatari health ministry on Monday announced 240 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 129,671, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
Meanwhile, 244 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 126,650, while the fatalities remained 224 for the second day running as no new death was reported.
The Omani health ministry on Monday announced 641 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 110,594, the official Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.
Meanwhile, 776 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall number of recoveries to 96,400, while 13 others reportedly died, raising the tally to 1,114, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA.
The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Monday reported 1,159 new COVID-19 cases, it also said that 373 more patients have recovered while seven others died.
The tally of confirmed cases in the country rose to 49,949, including 27,262 recoveries and 732 fatalities.
Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Monday ordered a curfew in all 24 provinces of the country starting Tuesday. Several provinces in Tunisia already imposed a 15-day curfew from Oct. 8.
Tunisia is seeing a rapid spread of COVID-19, as a total of 40,542 cases have been confirmed in the North African country, with 5,752 new ones reported in four days from Oct. 13 to 16.
Morocco registered 2,117 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the tally of infections in the North African country to 175,749, the health ministry said in a statement.
It also reported 48 new deaths from the coronavirus, raising the death toll to 2,976. The total recoveries from the virus in Morocco increased by 2,449 to 146,421 in the last 24 hours.
Earlier on Monday, Morocco's government extended the lockdown measures in Casablanca, the worst-hit area in the country, for 14 more days to curb the spread of COVID-19. ■
