Turkey's COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000, Iran's tally tops 87,000

Turkey's COVID-19 cases crossed a major threshold on Thursday as it surpassed 100,000, while the number of confirmed cases in Iran hit 87,026 amid a continued slowdown.

Turkey, the new epicenter of the outbreak in the Middle East, recorded 101,790 COVID-19 cases after 3,116 new ones were confirmed on Thursday.

The death toll in Turkey from the coronavirus climbed to 2,491 after 115 fatalities were added. A total of 18,491 patients have recovered, said Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

In Iran, 1,030 new cases were confirmed, raising the total number to 87,026, while the death toll hit 5,481, up by 90 from a day ago. There has been a slowdown in the virus spread in Iran since later March.

A total of 64,843 patients in the country have recovered, while 3,105 are still in critical condition.

Iran and Turkey, two of the hardest-hit countries by the virus, called for maintaining bilateral trade relations and sharing experience in their fight against the pandemic.

Israel, another hard-hit country in the region, reported 94 new confirmed cases, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections in the country to 14,592.

The death toll from the virus in Israel increased from 189 to 191, while the recoveries rose by 119 to 5,334.

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday 1,158 new cases of the coronavirus and seven new deaths, raising the total to 13,930 and the death toll to 121.

The tally of recoveries in the kingdom increased to 1,925 after 113 more patients were cured.

In Syria, where 42 infections have been reported, including six recoveries and three deaths, an online video-conference was held on Thursday between Chinese and Syrian medical experts for sharing the experiences in fighting the deadly virus.

During the video-conference, second of its kind since the outbreak of the coronavirus, in-depth exchanges were held between the two sides, which is important for the war-torn Syria to curb the spread of the disease.

Egypt's daily tally of COVID-19 infections set a new record with 232 cases on Thursday, raising the total to 3,891.

The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 11 new deaths and 69 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 287 and the total recoveries to 1,004.

On the same day, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Egypt will resume a nighttime curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time during the holy fasting month of Ramadan that starts on Friday.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 518 new coronavirus cases and four more deaths, raising the total confirmed cases to 8,756 and the death toll to 56.

A total of 91 more patients have made full recovery from the virus, taking the tally of the recoveries to 1,637.

In Qatar, 623 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected on Thursday, binging the tally of confirmed cases to 7,764, of whom 10 have died and 750 recovered.

Kuwait reported 151 new cases and one more death, bringing the country's total number to 2,399 and the death toll to 14.

The number of recovered cases in the country reached 498 after 55 recoveries were added on Thursday.

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 102 new cases of infections, bringing the total COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,716, including eight deaths and 307 recoveries.

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by six to 688, while the death toll remained at 22.

Meanwhile, Iraq confirmed 46 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,677, of whom 83 have died and 1,171 recovered.

In Palestine, six new cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed in its territories, bringing the total number to 480 with four deaths and 92 recoveries.

Morocco's confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 122 to 3,568, which included 155 fatalities and 456 recoveries.

In the mean time, Sudan's Health Ministry announced 22 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 162 including 13 deaths and 14 recoveries.

The UN-backed Libyan government on Thursday decided to reduce the curfew time from 24 to 12 hours as the COVID-19 cases in the country hit 60, including 18 recoveries and one death.

The new curfew will start on April 28 from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time.