LIVE: Coronavirus impact on Middle East grows - Arabnews

DUBAI: As the Middle East continues to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak, governments in the region and around the world have been taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Wednesday, March 11 (All times in GMT)

10:16 – Morocco announced two new coronavirus cases, involving the wife and daughter of a French tourist who was earlier contracted COVID-19. They were both quarantined for two days before testing positive for the virus.

10:01 – The Philippines has reported 6 new COVID-19 patients, bringing the total number of those who have been infected to 49.

A government worker disinfects a high school in Manila, Philippines on March 9, 2020. (AFP)

10:00 – Lebanon announced eight new cases of coronavirus infections, and a second death from the virus.

09:33 – Beijing on Wednesday ordered people arriving in the city from any country to go into 14-day quarantine as China reported an increase in imported coronavirus cases, threatening its progress against the epidemic. China has made major strides in its battle against the virus, prompting President Xi Jinping to visit Wuhan, the central city at the heart of the global epidemic, on Tuesday and declare that it has “basically curbed” the spread of the disease.

09:07 – Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr said he would reject any coronavirus treatment produced by the US.

08:38 – Iraqi Kurdistan regional officials said nationals have four days to return from Iran before borders are closed.

08:25 – Belgium reported its first coronavirus death, a patient who was 90 years old, according to Belga news agency.

08:10 – Iraq canceled Friday prayers in the Shiite holy city of Kerbala due to concerns about the coronavirus, a statement from the administration of the city’s holy site said on Wednesday.
Kerbala, like the neighboring holy city of Najaf, attracts Shiites pilgrims from Iraq and abroad. Prayers had already been canceled last Friday.

07:53 – Bahrain has quarantined 77 of the 165 people who have been evacuated from Iran, after they tested positive for the virus.

07:44 – Three new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the past 24 hours, the Kuwait health ministry said, bringing the total to 72. About 916 people have also been quarantined as a precaution against the spread of the virus. Thousands of volunteers are helping to control the spread of the virus in the country, health officials added. Kuwaiti officials likewise advised residents and citizens to avoid travel and warned against wrong information and fake news, and advised everyone to only rely on official announcements.

07:23 – Thailand on Wednesday cancelled the grant of visa on arrival for 18 countries and visa exemption for three others to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the country’s interior minister said.

Previously, nationals of 18 countries or territories could use their passports or travel documents to apply for Visa on Arrival at Thai immigration checkpoints.

The 18 places include Bulgaria, Bhutan, China (including Taiwan), Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu.

06:51 – Iraq has announced its second coronavirus death in Kerbala.

06:04– Indonesia has announced its first coronavirus death in the country.

00:09 – Bolivia has confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus, Health Minister Anibal Cruz said in a public address.

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Tuesday, March 10 (All times in GMT)

19:46 – Turkey announced its first coronavirus case, a man who had recently travelled to Europe and is in good health.

“The test of a patient suspected of carrying the coronavirus returned positive,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a television broadcast.

He added that the man was likely to have contracted COVID-19 while travelling in Europe, but declined to say which country or where in Turkey the patient had been hospitalized.

_{This video explaining how COVID-19 transmits person to person was produced by the World Health Organisation}

18:33 – In Oman, the Diwan of Royal Court issued a statement saying a committee will be formed to handle the developments resulting from coronavirus. The statement said the committee will monitor the spread of the virus and regional and international efforts taken to combat it. The committee will also follow up all procedures taken to control the spread of the virus, the statement added.

16:20 – Bahrain’s Ministry of Health announced the recovery of eight individuals from the coronavirus. The announcement brings the total number of confirmed recoveries to 30.

16:14 – In Tunisia, a sixth confirmed coronavirus case was announced on Tuesday evening, after the results of tests carried out on 44 people suspected of carrying the virus were disclosed.

2020-03-11 08:58:55Z
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1639921/middle-east