CAIRO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait announced on Wednesday to launch the COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Thursday as 148,773 cases have been detected so far. Meanwhile, the total number of positive cases in Turkey exceeded 2.08 million.
Kuwait's COVID-19 cases increased by 266 to 148,773 on Wednesday, while the death toll rose by one to 924.
The Kuwaiti Minister of Health Bassel Al-Sabah said the same day that the country will launch the COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Thursday, with the elderly and frontline workers receiving the jab first.
According to a statement by its health ministry, Kuwait received on Wednesday the first shipment of coronavirus vaccines.
Turkey reported 19,650 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,192 symptomatic patients, raising the total number of infections in the country to 2,082,610.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 259 to 18,861, while the total recoveries climbed to 1,901,307 after 34,492 more recovered in the last 24 hours, according to the Turkish health ministry.
Iran announced 6,261 new COVID-19 infections, raising the overall count in the country to 1,177,004 cases. Of the newly infected in the past 24 hours, 1,075 had to be hospitalized.
Meanwhile, 153 deaths with the coronavirus were registered in Iran between Tuesday and Wednesday, taking its death toll to 54,156. It also reported that 914,194 COVID-19 patients have recovered or been released from Iranian hospitals, where 5,419 others are currently in critical condition.
In Iraq, 1,173 new COVID-19 cases were reported, raising the total nationwide number to 587,676, according to a statement from the Iraqi Health Ministry.
It also reported 12 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus in Iraq to 12,737, and 1,448 more recovered cases, bringing the total recoveries to 525,792.
The coronavirus spread has suddenly spiked in Egypt as the north African country reported 911 new COVID-19 infections and 42 deaths on Wednesday, said Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed. Total deaths reached 7,209 while infections hit 127,972.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday that New Year's Eve celebrations will be banned in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus amid the rising daily infection tolls reported recently nationwide.
The Omani health ministry announced 93 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 128,236.
Meanwhile, 233 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 120,178, while one reportedly died, pushing its tally up to 1,491.
Qatar announced 140 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 142,448, while its overall recoveries rose by 135 to 140,264 and total fatalities remained 243 for the fifth day running.
Israel reported 3,884 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 384,169. Its death toll of the virus increased to 3,141 with 18 new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition rose from 483 to 510.
The total recoveries in Israel rose to 351,624 after 2,180 new recovered cases were added, while active cases stand at 29,404.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that four cases of infection with the new strain of coronavirus were detected in the country, adding that three of the patients arrived from Britain and the fourth case detected in Israel is still under inquiry.
Morocco announced 2,566 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the North African country since March 2 to 423,214.
The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 385,895 after 2,970 more were added, while the death toll rose by 56 to 7,086.
Lebanon registered 2,246 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase, raising its tally of infections to 163,225. Its death toll went up by 22 to 1,333, while a total of 116,143 patients have recovered.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 1,246 new cases, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 197,124.
The tally of recoveries in the UAE rose to 172,984 after 1,533 more patients recovered from the virus, while its death toll climbed by three to 645.
Saudi Arabia announced 177 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally to 361,536. The recoveries in the kingdom surged to 352,418 with 169 more recovered cases, while the death toll climbed to 6,148 after the registration of nine more fatalities.
Jordan's total coronavirus cases soared to 281,983 with 2,091 new infections. The death toll in the kingdom increased by 25 to 3,652, as the total recoveries hit 252,158.
In Algeria, the total COVID-19 infections increased by 480 to 96,549, including 2,696 fatalities and 64,461 recoveries. Enditem
