People wearing face masks perform Friday prayer, following the social distancing rule, in front of a mosque in Ankara, Turkey on May 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
--Turkey's COVID-19 cases reach 163,103 with 4,515 deaths;
--Iran's tally hits 148,950 with 7,734 deaths;
--Egypt reports highest 1,367 daily new cases;
--Israel's active cases drop below 2,000.
CAIRO, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's COVID-19 cases on Saturday exceeded 163,000 with more than 980 new infections. Meanwhile, Iran witnessed a higher surge of coronavirus cases with the tally approaching 149,000.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, climbed to 163,103 after 983 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 4,515 after 26 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said.
The overall number of recoveries in the country rose to 126,984.
On the same day, Turkey announced that it will resume domestic flights as part of measures towards normalization.
In Iran, the tally of COVID-19 infections surged to 148,950 after 2,282 new cases were registered.
A woman wearing a face mask sits at a cafe in Tehran, Iran, on May 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)
The country also reported 57 new deaths from the virus, raising the death toll to 7,734. A total of 116,827 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 2,533 still in critical condition.
Saudi Arabia announced 1,618 new cases and 22 more deaths, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 83,384 and the death toll to 480.
The kingdom also reported 1,870 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 58,883.
In Qatar, 2,355 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected, bringing the total number to 55,262, while the fatalities remained at 36.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 726 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 33,896 and the death toll to 262.
The total number of recoveries from the virus in the UAE increased to 17,546 after 449 more fully recovered.
Kuwait reported 1,008 new cases, bringing the country's total number of infections to 26,192, of whom 205 have died and 10,156 recovered.
A man wearing a face mask walks on a street in Giza, Egypt, on May 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)
Egypt's coronavirus cases continued the surging trend to reach 23,449 after a daily record of 1,367 new infections were added.
The Egyptian Health Ministry also reported 34 more deaths and 182 cases of recoveries, increasing the death toll to 913 and the total recoveries to 5,693.
In the mean time, Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said that the ministry has increased the number of hospitals tasked with receiving the coronavirus patients to 376 nationwide.
Israel reported 25 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections to 17,012.
The number of death cases in the country remained 284 while the recoveries rose by 35 to 14,811.
It is worth noting that the number of active cases in Israel decreased to 1,917.
Earlier on the day, Israeli health ministry announced that several schools in which coronavirus cases were detected will be shut down.
An Israeli worker cleans a room in a hotel as the preparation for reopening in central Israeli city of Tel Aviv, on May 26, 2020. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)
Oman's Ministry of Health announced 603 new cases of infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 10,423, including 42 deaths and 2,396 recoveries.
In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 7,780 after 66 new cases were added, which included 204 fatalities and 5,401 recoveries.
Iraq confirmed 306 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 6,179, of whom 195 have died and 3,110 recovered.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi authorities imposed a week-long curfew starting from May 31 to June 6 to curb the latest increase in infections of coronavirus in the country.
Sudan's Health Ministry announced 279 new COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths, bringing the total confirmed cases to 4,800 and the death toll to 262.
In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 19 to 1,191, while the death toll remained at 26.
Jordan registered four more infections, bringing the total coronavirus cases to 734, including nine deaths and 507 recoveries.
Yemen's health ministry confirmed 27 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of infections to 310 in the country's provinces controlled by the government, including 77 deaths and 13 recoveries.
In addition, health authorities in the Yemeni Houthi rebel-held capital Sanaa has declared earlier a total number of four infections in northern Yemen, including one death. ■