Feb 21:
Total cases COVID-19 coronavirus worldwide: More than 76,700 and 2,249 deaths
Israel’s Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed a passenger returning from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan has tested positive for COVID-19.
The first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Lebanon on Friday after a woman arriving from Iran tested positive, a source at a Beirut hospital where the woman is being quarantined told Reuters.
Passengers arriving in Turkey with symptoms are denied entry, says Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
With 750 suspected cases of coronavirus in Iran and 18 confirmed, along with five deaths, Turkey is subjecting all arrivals from Iran to medical checks, and barring people with symptoms from entering the country, said the country’s top health official on Friday.
In Iran 18 new confirmed cases confirmed on election day. Kianush Jahanpour, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, confirmed deaths of four people from coronavirus in the country’s northern city of Qom, 150 kilometers south of Tehran.
Cases include seven in the city of Qom, four in the capital Tehran and two in Gilan province.
A 45-year-old woman in Lebanon has been linked to the outbreak in Iran.
WHO says Iran cases “very worrisome.”
Kuwait: Kuwait’s ports authority suspended the movement of people to and from Iran until further notice because of concerns about the coronavirus.
Qatar: Had advised against unnecessary travel on Feb 10, on February 21 Qatar “accused Saudi Arabia of allowing a protracted dispute to hinder Gulf Arab coordination over the coronavirus outbreak.”
Iraq: Iraq’s south-eastern province of Maysan decided to close its border with Iran yesterday over fears of the coronavirus spreading into the country.
The United Arab Emirates said on Friday it had found two new coronavirus cases. The total number of people identified with the virus in the UAE is now 11. – Reuters and The National.
Egypt: Egypt had confirmed a coronavirus case on February 14, the first in Africa. The country’s health ministry says the affected person is a ‘foreigner’ who is hospitalised.
Saudi Arabia: On February 16 ten Saudi Arabian students had been evacuated from China’s coronavirus. A foreign university student, suspected of having caught the new coronavirus, took his own life while under quarantine, Saudi health authorities have said.
Bahrain and Oman: Economic risk due to coronavirus.
Jordan: On Feb. 20 an announcement said an aviation conference to be held in Jordan next month has been delayed due to coronavirus, the organizer wrote on the event’s website. The Middle East and Africa Aviation Summit, organized by industry intelligence firm CAPA – Centre for Aviation, was to be held on March 2 to 3 in Jordan.
– Iraq. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Iraq “The scale of preparations should match that of the threat…We call on relevant authorities to be up to the level of responsibility”
– Qatar says five Qatar Airways Cargo flights departed to China to send aid.
– UAE reveals the two cases reported earlier are “34-year-old Filipino national and a 39-year-old Bangladeshi national”
– Lebanon released details of woman who travelled to Qom in Iran. “We confirmed the first case today,” Lebanese Health Minister Hassan Hamad said at a news conference in Beirut.
-Saudi Arabia is supplying emergency medical equipment to combat the virus (كورونا) in China.
– Iraq’s Commission for Human Rights in Iraq called for the country to enter the health alert phase “C” due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus . The Iraqi authorities had denied entry to the Iranians through their border ports for 3 days due to the Corona virus. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior also decided yesterday, Thursday, to suspend granting the tourist visa to the Iranians directly, in a precautionary measure against the virus. -Al-Arabiya
– Iranian officials fear the virus is in numerous cities. An official at the Iranian Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the Corona virus has spread in many cities. “According to the current reports, the spread of Corona began in Qom, and with the transmission of people, he reached several cities in the country, including Tehran, Babylon, Arak, Rasht, (طهران وبابل وآراك ورشت وغيرها) etc., and it is likely to be present in all Iranian cities.”
– BNO claims “Saudi Arabia bans citizens from traveling to Iran due to coronavirus outbreak.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.mideastcenter.org/post/coronavirus-in-the-middle-east-live-updates.