CAIRO, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia crossed the 300,000 mark on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Iraq set a new record in daily infections with 4,567 cases.
Saudi Health Ministry reported 1,409 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally of infections in the kingdom to 301,323.
The total recoveries in Saudi Arabia rose to 272,911 with the addition of 4,526 recoveries, while the death toll surged to 3,470 with 34 new fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia will host on Thursday a meeting to discuss food safety in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Organized by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority, the "emergency meeting of heads of food regulatory authorities" will be held within the program of international conferences on the sidelines of the kingdom's presidency of the Group 20 (G20), said the report.
The meeting aims to develop a sustainable environment for global cooperation on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Iraq reported 4,576 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest daily rise since the outbreak of the pandemic, bringing the total nationwide infections to 184,709.
Iraqi Health Ministry also reported 82 fatalities, raising the death toll to 6,036, while the total recoveries rose to 131,840 with 2,895 new recoveries in the day.
Iraqi Health Ministry spokesman Sayf al-Badr blamed the continued spike in coronavirus infections on the failure to properly implement the curfew measures as requested by the ministry.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, reported 2,385 new infections, pushing the total confirmed COVID-19 cases to 347,835.
Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that the pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 19,972 Iranians, up by 168 in the past 24 hours.
At the same time, 300,881 patients have recovered from the infectious respiratory virus, while 3,882 others remain in critical condition, she added.
Turkey confirmed 1,263 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the total cases to 251,805, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Meanwhile, 20 more deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 6,016, while 942 more patients recovered, raising the total recoveries in Turkey to 232,913, Koca tweeted.
Israel on Tuesday reported 1,658 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally of infections to 96,409, including 708 fatalities and 71,990 recoveries.
Israel's leading airline El Al announced that it decided to extend flight suspension until Sept. 30, even though Israel began to gradually open its skies to international flights on Sunday as part of easing the anti-coronavirus restrictions.
In Morocco, the health ministry reported 1,245 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections to 44,803.
The tally of recoveries in Morocco surged to 31,002 after 1,061 new ones were added, while the death toll climbed to 714 with 33 new fatalities.
Kuwait reported 643 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 77,470 and the death toll to 505.
On Tuesday, Kuwait moved into the fourth phase of its five-phase plan to return to normal life, during which salons, gyms, barbershops, tailors and spas will reopen and restaurants will offer more services.
In Lebanon, the total COVID-19 infections increased on Tuesday by 421 cases to 9,758, while the death toll went up by two cases to 107.
To curb the resurgence of the pandemic, Lebanese Interior Ministry announced to reimpose a total lockdown starting on Friday for two weeks, during which the commercial institutions will be closed and an overnight curfew will be enforced.
The United Arab Emirates announced 365 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 64,906, including 366 deaths and 57,909 recoveries.
Palestine on Tuesday reported 612 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 23,003, including 124 deaths and 13,799 recoveries.
In Libya, the National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Tuesday reported 407 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 8,579, including 157 fatalities and 969 recoveries.
The Qatari health ministry announced 293 new COVID-19 infections and 267 recoveries, raising the total confirmed cases to 115,661 and tally of recoveries to 112,355. The death toll remained unchanged at 193 for the third day in a row.
Tunisia on Tuesday reported 129 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 2,314.
Since June 27, when Tunisia reopened borders to tourists, 1,112 coronavirus infections have been reported across the country, including 441 imported cases and 671 local cases as well as seven deaths, Tunisian Ministry of Health said. Enditem
