A health worker helps a child wear face mask during a COVID-19 awareness and detection campaign in Baghdad, Iraq on March 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
--Iraq sets daily record of 6,051 new cases;
--China decides to donate vaccines to Sudan;
--Turkey reports 29,762 new cases;
--Morocco's total cases climb to 492,842.
CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Iraq reported on Wednesday 6,051 new COVID-19 cases, reaching a record high in daily cases since the onset of the pandemic. Meanwhile, China said it will donate a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Sudan, in a bid to help the African country fight the virus.
The Iraqi health ministry said on Wednesday that the total infections in Iraq reached 809,092 after the country saw the highest daily increase since the country reported its first COVID-19 cases in February 2020.
The ministry said in a statement that 29 new deaths were recorded, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,095, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,185 to 727,471.
Ruba Falah, head of the health ministry's media office, warned that the coming days may witness a greater daily increase, calling on citizens to adhere to health-protective measures and speed up their registration to receive vaccinations.
"We advise citizens to register on the electronic platform established by the ministry to organize the vaccination process," Falah said in a press release.
Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin speaks at a press conference at the Chinese Embassy in Sudan in Khartoum, on March 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Ma Yichong)
Also on Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin announced that the Chinese government will donate a batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to the African country.
"The Chinese government and military have decided to donate a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Sudan," Ma made the announcement at a press conference held at the Chinese embassy in Khartoum.
"The vaccines, developed and produced by the Sinopharm Group, are scheduled to arrive on March 26 on a Chinese aircraft to the Khartoum International Airport," the ambassador added.
As of Tuesday, Sudan had recorded a total of 29,542 COVID-19 cases, including 23,858 recoveries and 2,003 deaths.
In Turkey, the health ministry reported 29,762 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,142 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 3,091,282.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 146 to 30,462, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,881,643 after 17,761 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.
The country started mass vaccination for COVID-19 on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 8,153,000 people were vaccinated so far.
A nurse prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Ankara, Turkey, on March 22, 2021.(Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
The Syrian Health Ministry announced on Wednesday it will provide 75 tons of oxygen to Lebanon for COVID-19 patients.
The announcement came during a joint press conference held by Syrian Health Minister Hasan al-Ghabbash and his Lebanese counterpart Hamad Hasan in the Syrian capital Damascus.
The oxygen will be delivered in three batches starting Wednesday, and it won't affect Syria's stock of oxygen, according to Hasan.
The Lebanese minister said that his ministry turned to Syria for help due to a lack of oxygen in the Lebanese hospitals.
Meanwhile, Lebanon registered on Wednesday 3,856 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 448,721. The death toll from the virus in the country went up by 53 to 5,903.
Morocco suspended on Wednesday all flights to and from Mali, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Libya, to curb the spread of the new COVID-19 variants, the Moroccan National Airport Office said in a statement posted on its website.
The suspension is temporary and will run until April 10. The ban also concerns the entry of passengers of these countries arriving through other countries, it added.
Morocco has so far suspended air connections with 35 countries to curb the spread of coronavirus and the more contagious COVID-19 variants.
The North African country last week extended the state of health emergency to April 10.
A medical worker prepares a dose of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Casablanca, Morocco, on March 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Chadi)
Morocco registered 439 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally of confirmed cases in the North African country to 492,842, the health ministry said in a statement.
The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 480,607 after 507 new ones were added. The death toll rose to 8,786 with 11 new fatalities during the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, 4,284,060 people have received so far the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, and 2,844,916 people have received the second dose.
The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines.
The Qatari health ministry on Wednesday announced 570 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 175,332, adding that the fatalities increased by three to 278.
The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Wednesday 1,299 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 223,042.
The ministry also announced 10 more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,256, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,212 to 207,392. ■
