People strolls at Eminonu, in Istanbul, on May 5, 2020, Turkey will relax confinement rules of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus on people aged 65 and over, on May 4, 2020. (Photo: AFP)
CAIRO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's COVID-19 cases on Saturday exceeded 137,000. Meanwhile, Iran witnessed a similar surge of coronavirus cases with the tally surpassing 106,000.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, climbed to 137,115 after 1,546 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 3,739 after 50 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said.
On the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspected the construction sites of two COVID-19 hospitals in Turkey's biggest city of Istanbul which are expected to be completed later in May.
In Iran, the tally of COVID-19 infections surged to 106,220 after 1,529 new cases were registered.
The country also reported 48 new deaths from the virus on Saturday, raising the death toll to 6,589. A total of 85,064 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 2,696 still in critical condition.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for boosting production of homemade test kits for the diagnosis of the novel coronavirus in order to meet domestic needs and export them abroad.
Saudi Arabia announced 1,704 new cases and 10 more deaths, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 37,136 and the death toll to 239.
The kingdom also reported 1,024 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 10,144.
In Qatar, 1,130 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, bringing the total number to 21,313, of whom 13 have died and 2,499 recovered.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 624 new COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 17,417 and the death toll to 185.
The total number of recoveries from the virus in the UAE increased to 4,295 after 458 more fully recovered.
Israel reported 18 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in the country since March 12, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections to 16,454.
The deaths from the virus in Israel increased from 245 to 247 while the recoveries rose by 147 to 11,376.
Egypt's coronavirus cases continued the surging trend to reach 8,964 after 488 new infections were added.
The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 11 more deaths and 57 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 514 and the total recoveries to 2,002.
Kuwait reported 415 new cases, bringing the country's total number of infections to 7,623, of whom 49 have died and 2,622 recovered.
In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 5,910 after 199 new cases were added, which included 186 fatalities and 2,461 recoveries.
Algeria said that 189 new cases of infections were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the tally of infections to 5,558, while the death toll hit 494 and the recoveries reached 2,546.
Oman's Ministry of Health announced 112 new cases of infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 3,224, including 17 deaths and 1,068 recoveries.
Iraq confirmed 76 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 2,679, of whom 107 have died and 1,702 recovered.
On Saturday, some Iraqi officials suggested re-imposing the full curfew for 14 days to contain the disease during the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan and the days of Eid al-Fitr.
The country has received three batches of medical aid from China and the support from a team of Chinese medical experts during their 50-day stay.
In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 13 to 809, while the death toll increased by one case to 26.
Jordan registered 14 more infections, bringing the total coronavirus cases to 522, including nine deaths and 387 recoveries.
The country will start the second phase of evacuating Jordanian students and citizens from abroad on May 15 after the first batch of 3,000 Jordanians stranded abroad returned home.