Qatar: With 1,581 new infections, tally rises to 63,700

ANKARA

A further 1,581 cases of the novel coronavirus were registered in Qatar over the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Public Health announced, asking the public to adhere to social distancing as the country is still in the "peak phase of the outbreak."

The additions took the total infections in the Gulf country to 63,741, including 45 deaths.

As many as 1,926 people also recovered during the said period, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It attributed the rise to contact with the infected at workplace or during visits to friends and family.

Other countries in the Middle East also released the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak:

Kuwait

Kuwait's Health Ministry said six people died from the virus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 236.

A ministry statement said 562 new infections were recorded, taking the total cases to 29,921.

The number of recoveries stands at 17,223 in the oil-rich country, which has conducted over 306,000 tests thus far.

Bahrain

Bahrain's Ministry of Health said the total number of cases has risen to 12,815, including 21 deaths and 7,410 recoveries.

It also announced sharing “contact tracing information” on its online portal.

“This measure has been established, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, to ensure the continued health and safety of all citizens and residents, and involves the circulation of precautionary information detailing the locations visited by contacts of active cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19)."

Oman

In Oman, the total number of cases rose to 14,316 after 778 new infections.

The sultanate’s death roll stands at 67, while 3,451 patients have recovered.

Minister of Health Ahmed Al Saeedi, in a press conference, said most of the deaths among Omanis were of those over age 50 who suffer from chronic diseases.

"Wearing face masks is effective in our battle against the pandemic," he added.

Morocco

In Morocco, the Health Ministry said 45 more people tested positive for the virus, pushing the total infections to 7,967.

The North African country reported one more virus-linked death, bringing the death toll to 207.

A total of 7,160 patients have recovered from the virus so far.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara