CAIRO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's health ministry reported 253 news COVID-19 death cases on Saturday, bringing the total fatalities over the epidemic in the country to 30,123. Meanwhile, Iraq's tally of confirmed cases reached 423,524, after 3,221 new cases were reported.
Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that over the past 24 hours, 4,103 new patients were diagnosed, raising the total confirmed number in the country to 526,490.
A total of 423,921 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 4,721 remain in intensive care units, Lari said during her daily briefing.
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported 3,221 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide infections to 423,524.
The ministry also reported 56 more deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 10,198 in the country. It said that 3,329 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 357,291.
Ryadh Abdul-Amir, head of the Ministry's Public Health Department, said in a press release that "the recovery rate in the country has reached 85 percent and is expected to increase more with medical services in accordance with international treatment protocols."
Turkey confirmed 1,723 new COVID-19 patients, raising the total diagnosed patients to 345,678. At the same time, 71 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 9,224, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.
In addition, 1,401 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 302,499 in Turkey since the outbreak.
The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients is 5.9 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 1,428.
Saudi Arabia announced 359 new cases and 21 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 341,854 and the death toll to 5,165. The total recoveries rose to 328,165.
In Israel, 834 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, taking the tally of coronavirus infections to 302,730.
The death toll of the virus in Israel increased to 2,167 while the recoveries rose to 265,348.
Egypt reported late on Friday 126 new cases, bringing the total cases to 105,159, and 11 more deaths, taking the death toll in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 6,099, said the Health Ministry.
Egypt officially reopened on Saturday tens of thousands of schools for millions of students across the country to start the new academic year while implementing precautionary measures against the COVID-19.
The plan of the Ministry of Education for the 2020/2021 academic year is based on maintaining social distancing, sufficient ventilation and regular disinfection at schools, while raising awareness of students and parents about the pandemic and necessary precautions.
The Qatari health ministry announced 235 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 129,227.
The ministry also said that 212 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 126,218, while the fatalities increased by one to 223.
Kuwait reported 739 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 115,483 and the death toll to 694 in the country, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
Currently, 7,681 patients are receiving treatment, including 139 in ICU, according to the statement.
The ministry also announced the recovery of 613 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 107,108.
Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased by 1,405 to 61,518, while the death toll went up by eight to 517, the Health Ministry reported.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 1,538 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 114,387.
At the same time, 1,411 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 106,354, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said. It also confirmed four more deaths, pushing the country's death toll to 459. Enditem
