Roundup: Turkey’s tally of COVID-19 infections nears 2.7 mln; over 62,000 nurses infected in Iran

Turkey’s total number of COVID-19 cases is nearing 2.7 million after over 9,000 new cases were registered Saturday. Meanwhile, over 62,000 nurses have been infected with the virus in Iran.

Turkey on Saturday reported 9,193 new COVID-19 cases, including 621 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 2,693,164, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 71 to 28,503, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,565,723 after 8,938 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

The country started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 6,865,000 people have been vaccinated so far.

In Iran, more than 62,000 nurses have contracted COVID-19 and about 100 of them have lost their lives due to the disease, an Iranian official was quoted by news agency IRNA as saying.

“The sacrifices made by nurses in the past year have alleviated some of the problems of the people during the epidemic, and we should appreciate their efforts,” Deputy Health Minister Mariam Hazrati said in a public tribute in Tehran.

Reports on the coronavirus-caused deaths of around 100 nurses are being analyzed under the supervision of the Ministry and the Foundation of Martyrs, and some of the deceased have already been approved to be recognized as “martyrs of service.”

At her daily briefing, spokeswoman for Iranian Ministry of Health Sima Sadat Lari said 81 new deaths related to the coronavirus were registered in Iran in the past 24 hours, and 7,975 new cases of COVID-19 were detected between Friday and Saturday.

The new figures make for a death toll of 59,980, and an overall count of 1,623,159 infections in Iran. Sadat Lari said 1,386,534 patients have recovered.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 3,543 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 692,241.

It also reported in a statement 18 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,383, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,820 to 632,998.

Israel’s Ministry of Health reported 3,290 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally in the country to 773,261.

The death toll from the COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,726 after 32 new fatalities were added, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 738 to 760, out of 1,236 hospitalized patients.

The total recoveries in Israel rose to 727,779, with 3,947 newly recovered cases, while the active cases decreased to 39,756.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel surpassed 4.68 million, or 50.3 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Lebanon registered 3,100 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 372,775 in the country. Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the virus went up by 42 to 4,652.

Lebanon received on Saturday the third batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

Abdul Rahman Bizri, member of the Lebanese National Infectious Diseases Committee, said on Saturday that Lebanon continues to vaccinate staff in the health sector and the elderly above 75.

The Qatari health ministry announced 460 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 163,197,.

Meanwhile, 412 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 153,219, while the fatalities remained 257 for the sixth day running.

Kuwait reported 844 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 189,890.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced six more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,078. The tally of recoveries in Kuwait rose by 1,064 to 178,197, while 10,615 coronavirus-related patients were receiving treatment.

Morocco’s COVID-19 tally rose to 483,410 on Saturday as 416 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. The death toll mounted to 8,615 as seven COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 468,807 after 420 new ones were added.

Meanwhile, 3,435,997 people have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19 in the country. The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines.

Algeria reported 155 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 112,960.

The death toll from the virus rose to 2,979 after two new fatalities were added. Meanwhile, 134 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 78,036.