UPDATE Coronavirus cases rise in Arab countries

By Khalid Mejdoup, Hacer Baser and Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi

UPDATE WITH FIGURES BY NEW COUNTRIES; REVISES LEDE

ISTANBUL (AA) - Health authorities in several Arab countries confirmed Saturday new deaths and additional cases of the novel coronavirus.

- Kuwait

The Health Ministry said 278 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 2,892.

Four more fatalities brought the death toll to 19, while recoveries stand at 656.

- Oman

The case count reached 1,905 after 115 more patients tested positive for COVID-19.

Ten have died and 329 have recovered, according to the Health Ministry.

- Lebanon

The number of cases is 704, the death toll stands at 24 and 104 COVID-19 patients have recovered, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

- Algeria

Health officials said four more patients died from the virus and the total loss of life rose to 419.

It said the number of cases reached 3,256 with 1,479 patients recovering.

- Egypt

The Egyptian Health Ministry announced 13 died from the virus, and total fatalities increased to 307.

The number of cases stands at 9,813 with 1,114 recoveries.

- Morocco

The number of cases increased to 3,797 and the death toll is 159, according to Mohammed Elyubi, Director of Epidemic Diseases of the Ministry of Health.

A total of 537 patients have recovered.

- Saudi Arabia

The death toll reached 136 with nine fatalities in Saudi Arabia, said the health ministry.

The number of cases increased 1,197 to 16,299, and the number of recoveries reached 2,215.

- UAE

Health ministry spokeswoman Amine ed-Dahhak said seven additional cases of COVID-19 occurred in the past 24 hours raising that number to 9,813 with 71 deaths.

- Bahrain

It was reported by the Ministry of Health of Bahrain that 70 more COVID-19 cases were detected and the number of cases increased to 2,576.

The number of recovered patients reached 1,160 with 51 who recovered in the last 24 hours.

At least eight died from the coronavirus.

- Iraq

Iraqi reported the number of cases rose to 1,763 and the number of recoveries stands at 1,224 in the last 24 hours. There was no increase in the number of dead.

- Jordan

Health minister Said Cabir said the number of cases increased to 444 with three new infections.

The number of patients who died was previously announced as seven.

COVID-19 cases have been reported in 185 countries and regions since the novel coronavirus emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas in the world.

Nearly 2.9 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll above 202,000 and more than 813,500 recoveries, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

* Writing by Havva Kara Aydin and Seda Sevencan