RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian Health Ministry on Saturday announced five deaths caused by the novel coronavirus, along with 436 infections.

In a statement, the ministry said four Palestinians from Hebron city and another from Bethlehem in the southern West Bank died from the disease.

Palestinian authorities had reported 35 deaths of the disease and 829 recoveries among 5,827 confirmed cases.

Since first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel corona virus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

The pandemic has killed more than 561,000 people worldwide, with an excess of 12.53 million confirmed cases and over 6.9 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.