WHO Notes COVID-19 Pandemic Potential as 5 More Mideast Nations Affected
an easier call, since health officials know what to expect with the spread. However, he added that experts still don’t understand all the dynamics related to COVID-19. He also said the world is in a phase of preparing for a potential pandemic.
Five Mideast Nations Report First Cases
The five Middle Eastern countries reporting their first cases yesterday include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman, the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional office confirmed on Twitter.
Afghanistan’s health ministry said its first confirmed case is one of three suspected cases, which were flagged in Herat province in the western part of the country on the border with Iran, Channel News Asia reported yesterday, citing Afghanistan’s health minister. One of the three people had recently returned from city of Qom, which is Iran’s outbreak epicenter.
Bahrain’s health ministry said its first confirmed case is a Bahraini citizen who had symptoms upon returning from Iran, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported yesterday. Meanwhile, Kuwait reported three cases, all traveling from Iran, one in a Kuwaiti citizen, one in a Saudi citizen, and the other with an unspecified nationality, according to a separate KUNA report.
Iraq’s health ministry said its case is a religious studies student from Iran. Oman health ministry reported two cases, both of them Omani women who had visited Iran, Reuters reported yesterday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s health ministry yesterday reported 18 new cases and 4 more deaths, raising its totals to 61 cases, 12 of them fatal. Eight of the cases are from Qom, with the others from Tehran (3), Markazi province (2), Isfahan province (2), Guilan province (2), Hamedan province (1). All are in the northwestern part of the country.
At yesterday’s WHO media briefing, officials said a WHO expert team is slated to arrive in Iran tomorrow to assistant and support the country’s health officials.
Korea Total Tops 800; Relative of U.S. Service Member Infected
The South Korea Centers for Disease Control (KCDC) in three updates (161 cases, 207 cases, and 70 cases), reported 438 new infections yesterday, raising its total to 833. The country also reported 8 more deaths, raising the fatality count to 11.
In a summary of the first 763 cases, it said most of the cases are still linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus cluster, with 186 cases are linked to an ongoing hospital cluster in Daegu.
In other South Korea developments, the family member of a US service member has tested positive for the
