Bahrain confirms 3 new cases of novel coronavirus

ISTANBUL (AA) – Bahrain's Health Ministry confirmed three new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the total infections to 26.

In a statement, the ministry said three women coming to the country from Iran via transit flights had contracted the virus.

According to the statement, the new cases arrived in Bahrain before the country's decision to suspend all indirect flights from Iran, where 19 deaths from the virus were reported.

On Tuesday, the Bahraini government ordered all schools shut for two weeks as part of measures to contain the virus.

The country's foreign ministry also advised citizens against travelling to "coronavirus-hit countries as Iran, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea."

The coronavirus was first detected in China in December 2019 and has spread to more than 30 other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India.

In China, the death toll from the outbreak reached 2,700 on Wednesday, with nearly 76,700 confirmed cases as health experts scramble to find a cure.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara