People wearing face masks cross a street in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 17, 2020. Iran broke a new record in daily COVID-19 infections with 13,352 new cases confirmed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the tally of coronavirus cases in Morocco crossed the 300,000-mark. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)
CAIRO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran broke a new record in daily COVID-19 infections with 13,352 new cases confirmed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the tally of coronavirus cases in Morocco crossed the 300,000-mark.
Iran's tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 788,473 while the death toll soared to 42,461 after 482 new deaths were recorded, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
A total of 570,774 COVID-19 patients in Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, have so far recovered or been released from hospitals, with 5,691 others remaining in critical condition, Lari said.
Iran unveiled on Tuesday its home-made rapid antigen testing kit for COVID-19 at an official ceremony in the capital Tehran. Compared with ordinary PCR kits currently used, the new kit is more adequate for outpatients since it can identify infected people in 15 to 20 minutes.
Morocco registered 5,415 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the tally of infections in the North African country to 301,604, the Moroccan health ministry said.
It also reported 82 new deaths and 4,235 more recoveries, raising the death toll in Morocco to 4,932 and the tally of recoveries to 247,594.
In Iraq, the health ministry reported 2,961 new COVID-19 cases and 40 more deaths, bringing the nationwide infections to 524,503 and the death toll to 11,752. The tally of recoveries rose by 3,460 to 453,025.
In a separate statement, the ministry predicted a significant increase in COVID-19 infections during the coming weeks as a result of lower temperatures.
Turkey reported 3,819 new coronavirus infections and 103 more deaths from the virus on Tuesday, raising the tally of COVID-19 cases to 421,413 and the death toll to 11,704.
The tally of recoveries in Turkey rose by 2,688 to 359,063, while 3,657 patients were treated in the intensive care units.
Istanbul, Turkey's worst-hit city by the COVID-19 pandemic, imposed on Tuesday new restrictions to control the spike in the daily cases. All the museums, sports facilities, pools and cultural centers run by the municipality will close their doors from Nov. 19.
Saudi Arabia reported 362 new COVID-19 infections and 16 more deaths, bringing the tally of infections to 353,918 and the overall death count to 5,692.
The total number of recoveries in the kingdom increased by 436 to 341,104, while 816 patients were treated in the intensive care units.
Israel recorded 600 new coronavirus infections and one more death as of early Tuesday evening, raising the tally of COVID-19 cases in the country to 325,355 and the death toll to 2,736.
Israel's total number of recoveries increased by 474 to 314,567, while 319 patients remained in critical condition.
Jordan confirmed 6,454 new coronavirus cases and 66 more deaths, pushing the tally of infections to 155,993 and the death toll to 1,909. The total recoveries in the kingdom rose to 90,267, while 474 patients were treated in intensive care units.
Kuwait reported 556 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 137,885 and the death toll to 848 in the country.
The Kuwaiti health ministry also announced the recovery of 627 more patients, taking the total recoveries in the country to 129,041.
The Omani health ministry reported 329 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 120,718. The death toll from the virus in Oman rose by 12 to 1,350, while the tally of recoveries increased by 350 to 111,446.
In Qatar, the health ministry announced 194 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 136,222. The tally of recoveries rose by 207 to 133,217, while the death toll remained at 235 for the second day running as no new death was added.
Palestine on Tuesday recorded 1,158 new COVID-19 cases and 11 more fatalities, bringing the tally of infections to 77,320 and the death toll to 658.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip threatened to impose a full lockdown on the coastal enclave if the daily infections continue to rise.
Algeria reported a record 1,002 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 68,591 in the country.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Algeria jumped to 2,186 with 18 new fatalities confirmed, while the tally of recoveries climbed by 611 to 45,699.
Several businesses, including those in the capital Algiers, have been ordered to shut down as of Tuesday. Lockdown hours in several cities were also extended in order to curb the COVID-19 spread.
