COVID-19 cases exceed 10,000 in Middle East

 The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the Middle East has exceeded 10,000, an alarming situation posed by the raging pandemic.

In the worst-hit Iran alone, the confirmed cases totalled to 10,075 on Thursday, roughly three weeks after the first cases were reported on February 19, with 429 fatalities, reports Xinhua news agency

Iran has been trying its best to implement necessary measures in accordance with WHO guidelines such as securing standard quarantine, banning public gatherings, and suspending schools.

But years of sanctions imposed by the US has made the situation worse in Iran, which faces severe shortage of medical supplies.

This has prompted Tehran to call for international help to lift the US sanctions.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday wrote a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, calling for removing all the unilateral US sanctions.

In his letter, a copy of which was sent to all international organizations' chiefs and foreign ministers of all countries, Zarif highlighted the need for lifting all "illegal" sanctions to help Iran combat the virus.

Also on Thursday, Iran's central bank said it has asked the International Monetary Fund for a $5 billion loan to help in its fight against the pandemic.

Although Iran continues to make headlines as the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, some other countries in the region were also facing the threat from the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

Qatar and Bahrain now have the most confirmed cases in the region after Iran, with 262 and 189, respectively.

In Israel, 109 people have been confirmed infected with COVID-19 after 12 new cases were detected on Thursday.

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday, which was one of the first countries in the Middle East to be affected by the COVID-19, announced 11 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total number to 85.

In Iraq, a total of 83 cases have been confirmed so far, of whom eight have died.

In Egypt, 13 new cases were reported on Thursday, raising the total number to 80. It has also confirmed two deaths.

Kuwait has recorded a total of 80 confirmed cases, after eight new infections were reported on Thursday. The government suspended the commercial flights to and from the country on Thursday.

Lebanon on Thursday reported its third COVID-19 death, while a total of 71 cases have been confirmed.

A day earlier, Lebanon allocated $39 million from a loan offered by the World Bank for the fight against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Algeria, with 26 confirmed cases and two deaths, and Morocco, with six confirmed cases, agreed on Thursday to suspend bilateral flights as a precautionary measure against the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Responding to the call for help from the region, China, which has accumulated rich experience in containing the disease, has lent a hand to the countries.

Two Chinese medical teams having been assisting Iran and Iraq in their fights against the coronavirus, in addition to the donation of much-needed medical supplies to several countries in the Middle East. IANS