CAIRO, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases approached 307,000 in Iran on Saturday. Meanwhile, Turkish and Iraqi health officials warned of an increase in the coronavirus infections during Eid al-Adha holiday.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 2,548 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 306,752.
The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 16,982 Iranians, up by 216 in the past 24 hours. A total of 265,830 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 4,011 still in critical condition.
Saudi Arabia announced 1,573 new cases and 21 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 277,478 and the death toll to 2,887.
The kingdom also reported 1,890 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 237,548.
In the meantime, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey climbed to 231,869 after 996 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 5,710 after 19 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, Koca said, adding 981 more patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 215,516.
Worried about a potential rise in COVID-19 infections, Turkish health officials and doctors urged for increased vigilance during the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday, during which millions travel across the country.
In Iraq, the tally of coronavirus infections rose to 126,704 after 2,095 new cases were reported.
The country also reported 64 more deaths and 1,841 recovered cases, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 4,805 and the total recoveries to 89,275.
Iraqi Deputy Health Minister Hazim al-Jumaili said that the recent increase of COVID-19 cases is an alarming sign of the failure to comply with the health preventive measures.
In the mean time, Iraqi Health Ministry said "most citizens are not abiding by the health preventive measures, through gatherings of families to exchange congratulations on the Eid al-Adha festival."
In Qatar, 216 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, increasing the total number to 110,911, including 174 deaths and 107,578 recoveries.
Egypt's coronavirus cases continued the slowdown trend to reach 94,316, with the addition of 238 new infections.
The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 29 more deaths and 1,499 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 4,834 and the total recoveries to 41,137.
Israel reported 1,193 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections to 72,163.
The death toll of the virus in Israel increased to 523 while the recoveries rose to 45,098.
Israeli Minister of Transport announced on the day that the country will resume international flights on Aug. 16.
Kuwait reported 491 new cases, bringing the country's total number of infections to 67,448, of whom 453 have died and 58,525 recovered.
The country resumed on the day commercial flights at Kuwait International Airport under all necessary measures.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 254 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 60,760.
The total number of recoveries from the virus in the UAE increased to 54,255 after 346 more fully recovered.
In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 25,015 after 693 new cases were added, which included 367 fatalities and 17,960 recoveries.
In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 175 to 4,730, while the death toll remained at 61.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 1,730 after two new cases were added.
The number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas, including the southern port city of Aden, increased to 862 and the death toll climbed to 494. Enditem
