ANKARA

Health authorities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed new fatalities and infections from the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.

In Saudi Arabia, the Health Ministry recorded 27 more deaths and 861 new cases over the past day.

The kingdom’s count now stands at 3,956 deaths and 317,531 infections as well as 292,510 recoveries.

In the UAE, 735 more infections and three additional deaths were reported.

With the newly reported cases, the UAE's tally reached 71,540 cases, including 62,029 recoveries and 387 deaths.

Since originating in China last December, the pandemic has claimed over 857,877 lives in 188 countries and regions.

More than 25.78 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 17.11 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz