Turkey sets new daily record of 37,303 COVID-19 infections; Jordan's caseload tops 600,000

CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkey reported 37,303 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, breaking its record of single-day infections since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. Meanwhile, Jordan's total COVID-19 infections exceeded 600,000.

Among the new cases in Turkey were 1,376 symptomatic patients, as the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country surged to 3,277,880, according to the Turkish Health Ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 155 to 31,385, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,995,033 after 19,925 more recovered in the last 24 hours.

On Monday, the Turkish government decided to tighten restrictions, including extending weekend lockdowns, amid a surge in the number of infections after Turkey eased the anti-pandemic measures on March 1.

The country started mass vaccination against COVID-19 on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of China's Sinovac vaccine. More than 8,889,000 people have been vaccinated so far.

Turkey will also begin administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the next few days, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Tuesday.

The total COVID-19 cases in Jordan climbed by 7,751 to 605,007, while the death toll from the virus rose to 6,747 after 96 new fatalities were added, according to a joint statement issued by the Prime Minister's office and the Ministry of Health.

It added that 9,535 recoveries were registered in Jordan, bringing the total number of recoveries to 503,952, while there were 94,308 active COVID-19 cases.

Iran reported 10,250 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising its nationwide caseload to 1,875,234.

The pandemic has so far claimed 62,569 lives in Iran, up by 91 in the past 24 hours, while a total of 1,608,807 people have recovered from the disease and 3,953 others remained in intensive care units.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday 5,995 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 844,260.

The ministry also reported 37 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,286, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,915 to 755,350.

During a press conference in Iraq's capital Baghdad, World Health Organization representative in Iraq Ahmed Zouiten called on Iraqi citizens to get vaccinated because "it is the best option to reduce the danger of coronavirus and the number of infections."

Israel's Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday 506 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed tally in the country to 832,574.

The death toll from the virus stood at 6,189, while the total recoveries in Israel rose to 818,506 with the addition of 1,004 newly recovered cases. The number of active cases decreased to 7,879, the lowest in the country since Nov. 15, 2020.

Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 495,421 on Tuesday as 665 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, the Moroccan Health Ministry said.

The COVID-19 death toll in Morocco rose to 8,813 with six new fatalities confirmed, while the total number of recoveries increased to 483,165 after 580 new ones were added.

Lebanon registered 2,668 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 465,007, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus in Lebanon went up by 48 to 6,184, while the total recoveries stood at 366,639.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported 1,271 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 230,821.

The ministry also announced 10 more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,308, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,308 to 215,250. A total of 14,263 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 240 in the intensive care units.

The Qatari health ministry announced 720 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 179,184.

It also reported 412 more recovered cases, bringing the overall recoveries in Qatar to 163,684, while the fatalities increased by three to 289.

The Omani health ministry announced 1,173 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 158,056.

It also reported 454 more recoveries from the virus and seven more deaths, raising its total recoveries to 143,398 and its death toll to 1,669.