Pandemic claims more lives in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman

ANKARA (AA) - Health authorities in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Oman on Thursday confirmed additional fatalities due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Iraq's Health Ministry said 82 more people have died from the pandemic, bringing the country’s tally to 7,814.

The number of coronavirus infections in the country reached 278,418 with 4,597 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia said with 24 more patients succumbing to the disease, the number of deaths has reached 4,189, while recoveries neared 300,000.

The Gulf Arab country recorded 708 additional infections over the past 24 hours, raising the tally to 323,720.

In a statement, Libya’s National Center for Disease Control said 15 more people died from COVID-19 and 477 others tested positive.

The country’s tally now rose to 20,939 cases, including 339 deaths, and 2,420 recoveries.

In Oman, the Health Ministry recorded 11 additional fatalities along with 398 infections and 210 recoveries.

The country's total cases now stand at 88,337, including 762 deaths, and 83,325 recoveries.

In Kuwait, the Health Ministry said four more people died from the pandemic, bringing the country’s tally to 556.

The number of infections reached 92,822 with 740 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

Reports from Jordan said one died and five more people have tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 2,739, with the total number of recoveries to 2,004.

The country’s death toll currently stands at 20.

In Qatar, 206 more people contracted COVID-19, bringing the tally to 121,052, including 205 deaths and 117,978 recoveries.

The pandemic has claimed more than 905,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in China last December. The US, India, and Brazil are currently the worst-hit countries.

Over 27.92 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeded 18.81 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

* Bassel Barakat contributed to this report.