Iran's COVID-19 caseload surpasses 2 mln; Egypt hails "fruitful" anti-pandemic cooperation with China

A woman and her daughter wearing face masks walk in a supermarket in Tehran, capital of Iran, on April. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

-- Iran's COVID-19 caseload surpasses 2 mln;

-- Egypt hails "fruitful" anti-pandemic cooperation with China;

-- Turkey reports highest 55,941 daily cases;

-- Iraq's caseload tops 900,000 amid infections surge.

CAIRO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran reported 22,586 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, pushing up the country's caseload to cross the 2-million mark. Meanwhile, Egypt hailed the "fruitful" cooperation with China in fighting the pandemic.

The tally of coronavirus infections in Iran surged to 2,006,934, while the pandemic has so far claimed 63,884 lives in Iran, up by 185 in the past 24 hours.

A total of 1,684,570 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals in Iran, while 4,221 remained in intensive care units.

In Cairo, Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed on Thursday lauded the cooperation between Egypt and China on combating the COVID-19 pandemic as "fruitful and unprecedented."

"I would like to thank China, its leadership, government and people, for their great solidarity with us in this crisis," the minister told a press conference in Cairo on the situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt.

Workers upload a batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines onto a truck in Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Feb. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)

Zayed pointed out that Egypt has received two batches of China's Sinopharm vaccines recently.

Turkey on Thursday reported 55,941 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily record in the country since the start of the outbreak.

Among the new coronavirus cases in Turkey were 2,316 symptomatic patients, as the total caseload in the country reached 3,689,866, according to the Turkish Health Ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 258 to 33,201, while the total recoveries climbed to 3,232,892 after 37,914 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

In Iraq, the total number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 900,000 as the daily infections continue to rise and threaten to run out of control.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 7,817 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, raising the total nationwide number to 903,439.

It also confirmed 34 new deaths from the virus, raising the death toll to 14,606, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,883 to 799,327.

Citizens wait for receiving the COVID-19 vaccines at a health center in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Sayf al-Badr, spokesman of the Iraqi health ministry, warned of the recent dangerous epidemiological situation, saying "Iraq recorded unprecedented numbers during the past few days."

"Like any other health system in the world, the Iraqi health system has a limit in dealing with numbers of infections that occur at the same time," al-Badr added.

Jordan confirmed 4,775 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally of COVID-19 cases to 655,456. The death toll from the disease rose by 96 to 7,565, while the total recoveries in the kingdom soared by 6,444 to 576,771.

In Morocco, 635 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the national tally of infections to 500,323, the Moroccan Ministry of Health said.

Six more people died from the disease, taking the death toll in the North African country to 8,873, while the total recoveries increased to 486,913 after 564 more were added.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 274 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total infections in the country to 835,437.

The death toll from the virus rose by 15 to 6,277 in Israel, while the number of recoveries surged to 824,666 after 556 newly recovered cases were added.

Lebanon recorded 3,510 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total number of infections to 489,428. The death toll from the virus increased by 37 to 6,549 in Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aoun kicked off on Thursday a vaccination campaign for the soldiers in 21 military centers across the country.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported 1,379 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 242,848.

A man receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Ankara, Turkey, April 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

The ministry also announced four more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,383, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,234 to 227,260.

Qatari Health Ministry on Thursday announced 949 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 187,150.

It also reported that 521 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 168,001, while the death toll increased by two to 322.