Author: News Desk

Pleas by the Iranian government for citizens to stay at home at the start of the country’s new year have been widely ignored, with more than 1.2 million people taking to the roads, according to police. Northern towns on the Caspian coast reported tens of thousands of cars trying to reach the main holiday destinations. The latest figures published on Friday showed Iran had recorded 19,644 cases of infection and 1,433 deaths. There were 1,237 new infections in the past 24 hours and 149 new deaths. The number of new infections is a record high for a single day, and the number of…

Saudi Arabia suspended all domestic flights, buses, taxis, and trains for 14 days starting Saturday, the state news agency reported quoting a source in the interior ministry. The source said the move comes as a precautionary measure to limit the spread of coronavirus which has spread panic in global markets and put several countries on virtual lockdowns. Saudi Arabia has so far confirmed 274 infections and no deaths, while globally the pandemic has killed over 10,000 and infected over 240,000.

China’s imported coronavirus cases have risen to a record 228, data showed on Friday, as infected travelers spread to ever more provinces, adding pressure on authorities to toughen entry rules and health protocols. For the second day in a row, China found no domestically transmitted cases of the virus that emerged in its central province of Hubei late last year, according to new daily figures registered on Thursday. Fears of a second wave of infections are growing just as China brings its epidemic under control, with the spread of the virus in Europe and North America spurring a rush homewards…

China has exonerated a doctor who was officially reprimanded for warning about the coronavirus outbreak and later died of the disease, a startling admission of error by the ruling Communist Party that generally bodes no challenges to its authority. The party’s top disciplinary body said the police force in Wuhan had revoked its admonishment of Dr. Li Wenliang that had included a threat of arrest. It also said a “solemn apology” had been issued to Li’s family and that two police officers, identified only by their surnames, had been issued “disciplinary punishments” for the original handling of the matter. In…

The number of people who have died from the coronavirus in Italy has hit 3,405, according to Reuters, meaning the country now has reported more deaths than China as a result of the pandemic. The death toll in China, where the coronavirus started in Wuhan, in Hubei province late 2019, currently stands at 3,249, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. After sweeping through China in early 2020, the virus spread to Europe where Italy — and particularly the northern Lombardy region, which is home to financial hub Milan — became the epicenter. The country, like many others in…

In line with the precautionary measures taken to prevent Coronavirus (COVID-19) and limit its spread, and to preserve the safety of all, the Sunni Endowments Department announces the suspension of Friday sermon and prayer in all mosques of the Kingdom of Bahrain, starting tomorrow, Friday, March 20, 2020 until further notice.

Iran’s top leader will pardon 10,000 more prisoners in an apparent effort to combat the coronavirus. As part of steps to curb the spread of the new virus that has killed more than 1,100 people in Iran, the country has already released 85,000 prisoners on temporary leave. The Middle East has some 20,000 cases of the virus, with most in Iran or originating from Iran. To encourage people to stay at home in Iran, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour wrote on social media that the virus infects 50 Iranians on average every single hour and that “one dies every 10 minutes…

Bahrain tested a total of 16786 until now. 9 more new cases of COVID-19 have been found. 1 critical patient’s status has been stable. Still, there are 3 more critical cases. No one new has been discharged.

Struck down by coronavirus at the age of 83, the long life of Alfredo Visioli ended with a short ceremony at a graveyard near Cremona, his hometown in northern Italy. “They buried him like that, without a funeral, without his loved ones, with just a blessing from the priest,” said his granddaughter Marta Manfredi who couldn’t attend. Like most of the old man’s family – like most of Italy – she was confined to her home. “When all this is over,” she vows, “we will give him a real funeral.” Everywhere the coronavirus has struck, regardless of culture or religion,…

Africa must “wake up” to the coronavirus threat and prepare for the worst, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. The continent should learn from how the spread of the virus has sped up elsewhere, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. He warned that while Africa’s confirmed cases were currently low – around 640 – there was no reason for complacency. “Africa should wake up, my continent should wake up,” said the Ethiopian, the WHO’s first African head. Health experts warn that strained public health systems in Africa could become quickly overwhelmed if the virus takes hold, especially in…