Photo taken on July 28, 2020 shows taxis running in a street in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Kuwait will start the third phase plan of restoring normal life on July 28, Tareq Al-Mezrem, government spokesman, said on July 23. Taxis will be allowed to operate with only one passenger, he noted. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)
CAIRO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Tuesday recorded 2,667 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 296,273. Meanwhile, Kuwait entered the third phase of its plan to restore normal life.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that the death toll from the coronavirus in Iran rose to 16,147 after 235 new deaths were added.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, has so far recorded 257,019 recoveries, while 3,902 patients remain in critical condition.
Kuwait entered the third phase of its plan to restore normal life on Tuesday, though it reported 770 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the total infections to 65,149 and the death toll to 442.
During the third phase, the labor capacity will increase to no more than 50 percent, visits to social care homes will be allowed, and hotels and resorts will reopen.
Saudi Arabia, the worst-hit Arab country, announced 1,897 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the kingdom to 270,831.
This is lowest daily hike in infections in the country since June 2, and it is also the third consecutive day that Saudi Arabia's daily count of new infections fell below 2,000.
The Saudi Health Ministry also reported 29 new deaths and 2,688 more recoveries, raising the death toll to 2,789 and the total recoveries to 225,624.
Turkey confirmed 963 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the total infections to 227,982, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Meanwhile, 15 people died from the virus, taking the death toll to 5,645, while 1,092 more patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 211,561, he said.
In Iraq, the Health Ministry reported 2,747 COVID-19 cases and 77 more deaths, bringing the total infections to 115,332 and the death toll to 4,535.
Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the Health Ministry's Public Health Department, predicted that a partial curfew would return after the full curfew imposed during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday, in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stressed that the committee will oppose any recommendations to fully lift the curfew due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus infections by social gatherings and the public's non-compliance with the ministry's health restrictions.
Israel recorded the highest daily hike in COVID-19 infections with 2,308 new cases confirmed on Tuesday, taking the total confirmed cases to 66,293. The death toll in Israel rose to 486 after 12 new fatalities were added.
Oman reported 1,067 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, raising the tally of infections to 74,858, including 371 deaths.
In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases surged to 21,387 with 500 new infections recorded in the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose to 327 after 11 new fatalities were added.
Palestine announced 481 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 13,938, including 82 deaths and 5,518 recoveries.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced 369 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 59,546.
The death toll from the virus rose to 347 in UAE after two more patients died, and the total number of recoveries increased to 52,905 after 395 more patients recovered.
Qatar's Health Ministry announced 283 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 109,880, including 106,603 recoveries and 167 deaths.
The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Tuesday announced 190 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily infections, as the total infections climbed to 3,017.
The center said that the tally of cases includes 579 recoveries and 67 deaths so far.
Lebanon's total number of COVID-19 infections increased on Tuesday by 141 cases to 4,023, while the death toll went up by three to 54.
The Lebanese cabinet agreed on Tuesday to adopt a new period of general mobilization against the pandemic from Aug. 3 to Aug. 30, in a bid to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Enditem
