Turkey's COVID-19 cases surpass 154,000 as Iran's tally exceeds 131,000

People wearing face masks are seen in Izmir, Turkey, on May 20, 2020.(Xinhua/Emre Tazegul)-- Turkey's COVID-19 cases climb to 154,500;

-- Iran's total infections rise to 131,652;

-- Saudi Arabia reports 67,719 cases;

-- Egypt sets record daily increase of 783 cases, 15,786 in total.

CAIRO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's COVID-19 cases on Friday exceeded 154,000 as the daily number of new infections continued to drop below 1,000. Meanwhile, Iran's tally of confirmed cases surpassed 131,000.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, climbed to 154,500 after 952 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

This was the third day that Turkey's daily infections with the novel coronavirus fell below 1,000.

Turkey's death toll surged to 4,276 after 27 more deaths were added, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

Turkey has launched a financial support package to protect exporters from the impact of coronavirus, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan announced on Friday.

The package, called the Stock Financing Support Package, has come into use through Turkey's Eximbank, according to a press release issued by the ministry.

The Iranian health ministry on Friday reported 51 new deaths of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 7,300 since the outbreak of the disease in late February.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said 2,311 people contracted the virus over the past 24 hours, taking the number of infections to 131,652.

Saudi Arabia continued to be the country in the Middle East with the fastest rise in daily COVID-19 cases, with 2,642 new ones reported on Friday, pushing up the total number to 67,719.

The kingdom also reported 13 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 364. The number of recoveries increased to 39,003 after 2,963 new ones were added.

Qatar's health ministry on Friday announced 1,830 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 40,481.

People exercise on the beach in Hawalli Governorate, Kuwait, May 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Asad) Kuwait reported 955 new cases of COVID-19 and nine more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 19,564 and the death toll to 138, the health ministry said in a statement.

Kuwait also announced the recovery of 310 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 5,515.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 994 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 27,892.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said 1,043 more patients fully recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries to 13,798. Four more deaths were recorded, raising the country's death toll to 241.

People prepare free takeaway meals in Cairo, Egypt, on May 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Egypt recorded 783 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the highest daily rise since the pandemic outbreak in February, bringing the total cases to 15,786, Egypt's health ministry said on Friday.

Egypt also confirmed 11 new coronavirus-related deaths, taking the death toll from the disease to 707, said Khaled Megahed, the health ministry's spokesman, in a statement.

On Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said Chinese companies in the North African country take strict precautionary measures to maintain their work momentum in different projects amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Omani Ministry of Health announced 424 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 6,794.

A medical worker takes a sample from a boy for COVID-19 testing in Sadr City district in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) The Iraqi Health Ministry on Friday recorded 87 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 3,964 in the country.

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased on Friday by 62 cases to 1,086 while death toll remained at 26.

A total of 121 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Morocco on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 7,332.

The number of people cured has increased to 4,377 with 97 new recoveries, director of epidemiology at the Ministry of Health Mohamed El Youbi said in his daily briefing.

Libya's National Center for Disease Control on Friday announced one new COVID-19 case and three recoveries.

The number of confirmed cases in Libya so far is 72, including 38 recoveries and three deaths. ■