CAIRO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 288,000 in Iran on Saturday. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's tally nudged 265,000.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 2,316 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 288,839.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said 195 people died from the viral disease, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 15,484. She added that 251,319 people have recovered and 3,670 remain in critical condition.
Saudi Arabia announced 2,201 new cases and 31 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 264,973 and the death toll to 2,703.
The kingdom also reported 2,051 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 217,782.
In the meantime, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey climbed to 225,173 after 921 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 5,596 after 16 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, Koca said, adding that the total recoveries rose to 208,477.
Qatar's health ministry on Saturday announced 398 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 109,036.
The Iraqi health ministry recorded 2,862 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total infections in the country to 107,573.
It also reported 72 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll to 4,284, while 2,049 more patients recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 73,317.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi discussed in a meeting with his ministry's senior officials the means to provide all required medications and medical equipment for the health institutions to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the ministry said in a separate statement.
Al-Tamimi highlighted the importance of increasing the capacity of laboratory tests and intensifying efforts to detect contacts with the infected people, according to the statement.
Egypt's increase of coronavirus cases continued the slowdown trend, as the total cases reached 91,583 with the addition of 511 new infections.
The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 40 more deaths, increasing the death toll to 4,558. The total recoveries rose to 32,903.
Kuwait on Saturday reported 684 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 63,309 and the death toll to 429, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also announced the recovery of 692 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 53,607.
Israel reported 1,021 new cases, bringing the total to 60,496. The number of death cases rose to 455, with seven new cases, while the number of patients in serious condition rose from 308 to 312, out of 706 patients currently hospitalized.
The number of recoveries rose to 26,882, with 85 new recoveries, while the number of active cases reached 33,160 in Israel.
On Friday afternoon, all shops, malls, barber shops, beauty salons, markets and libraries in Israel were closed until Sunday morning, as part of the weekend restrictions.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 313 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 58,562.
And 393 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 51,628, according to the ministry. The country reported no death from COVID-19 during the past 24 hours.
Morocco reported 811 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far, taking the number of infections in the country since March 2 to 19,645.
The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 16,282 after 181 new ones were added, while the death toll rose to 305 with six new fatalities.
Palestine reported 382 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the Palestinian territories to 12,809, including 3,741 recoveries and 77 deaths.
Libya reported 123 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of cases in Libya to 2,547, including 510 recoveries and 58 deaths. Enditem
