CAIRO, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran's COVID-19 cases surpassed 600,000 on Friday. Meanwhile, Israel decided that the second stage of the exit plan from the ongoing full lockdown will begin from Sunday.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 8,011 new cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 604,952.
The pandemic has so far claimed 34,478 lives in Iran, up by 365 in the past 24 hours. A total of 477,300 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 5,128 still in critical condition.
In Israel, 587 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, taking the tally of coronavirus infections to 313,701.
The death toll rose to 2,514 with six new fatalities, while the tally of recoveries reached 299,822 with 383 new ones. The number of active cases stands at 11,362.
Israel's coronavirus cabinet decided that the second stage of the exit plan from the ongoing full lockdown will begin on Sunday, Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Friday.
During the new stage, the lockdown measures imposed by the government last month to curb the spread of COVID-19 will be further scaled back.
In the meantime, 2,878 new COVID-19 cases were detected in Iraq during the past 24 hours, bringing the total nationwide infections to 470,633.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Iraq rose to 10,862 after 47 fatalities were added, while the total recoveries increased to 397,241 as 2,855 more patients recovered.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey climbed by 2,322 to 373,154.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 10,177 after 78 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, while the total recoveries increased to 322,465.
Saudi Arabia announced 398 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 346,880.
The number of recoveries rose to 333,409 with the reporting of 404 new recoveries, while the death toll reached 5,383 with the registration of 20 more fatalities.
In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 215,294 after 3,256 new cases were added, which included 3,625 fatalities and 177,925 recoveries.
In Qatar, 193 new cases of coronavirus were detected, increasing the total number to 132,343, including 232 deaths and 129,349 recoveries.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 1,172 new cases, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 131,508.
The tally of recoveries in the UAE rose to 127,607 after 1,460 more patients have recovered from the virus while the death toll reached 490 with two more deaths.
Kuwait reported 671 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 125,337 and the death toll to 773 in the country.
The Kuwaiti health ministry also announced the recovery of 727 more patients, taking the total recoveries in the country to 116,202.
In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 1,751 to 79,529, with 625 deaths and 40,352 recoveries.
Lebanon's caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan warned that the country will witness a second wave of COVID-19 amid lack of hospital beds, LBCI TV channel reported.
"Our public and private health sectors should be ready to double hospital beds and secure the needed services for our society and citizens," Hassan said.
In Jordan, 3,921 new COVID-19 cases and 32 more deaths were recorded, increasing the tally of cases to 69,306 and the death toll to 772. It is the biggest single-day rise in the country.
Tunisian Health Ministry announced 3,751 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of infections to 58,029.
The death toll from the virus rose by 100 to 1,253 in the North African country, the ministry said in a statement, adding the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 1,131.
Palestine reported 504 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally of infections in the Palestinian territories to 64,741, including 553 deaths and 57,234 recoveries.
Sudan reported 32 new infections, increasing the tally to 13,804. Enditem
