Coronavirus update: Kuwait, Bahrain report additional cases

Kuwait confirmed two female passengers onboard an inbound flight from the Iranian city of Mashhad as its latest coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of those infected in the country to five, Kuwait News Agency reported.

Both the patients were travelling on the same flight as the earlier three infected individuals, Kuwait’s Ministry of Health said.

Kuwait MoH confirms 2 more coronavirus cases https://t.co/Hc8lQMQxFG #KUNA #KUWAIT
(I.F)

— kuna (@kuna_en) February 24, 2020

All patients were transported to a hospital from the airport for treatment and quarantine purposes.

The Ministry advised all citizens to adhere to safety regulations related to public health.

In an attempt to contain the spread of the evolving virus, Kuwait’s civil aviation has suspended flights to and from Iraq, South Korea, Thailand, Italy.

Bahrain
Bahrain has registered six new cases of the Covid-19 virus, taking the country’s overall number of cases to 8.

The new cases include two Bahraini citizens and four Saudi nationals who had arrived from Iran via Dubai, and were examined as a precautionary measure, Bahrain News Agency reported.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the infected individuals had arrived in the kingdom before the state’s decision to suspend flights from Dubai and Sharjah for 48 hours.

Read more: Bahrain suspends all flights from Dubai and Sharjah for 48 hours

The infected individuals were in a sequestered area at the airport where the results of the COVID-19 virus were confirmed, according to the ministry.

All individuals accompanying those infected were also moved into isolation as a precautionary measure after testing negative for the virus.

The ministry confirmed all necessary measures were being taken to examine each passenger arriving from affected countries.

Bahrain reported its initial two cases earlier this week, both having travelled to the kingdom from Iran.

The UAE has, so far, reported 13 confirmed cases of the new virus, with three having fully recovered.

Read more: UAE confirms new coronavirus cases, Saudi suspends travel to Iran

Meanwhile, Iran has posted the highest pool of coronavirus cases – 61 – in the Middle East, with at least 12 deaths so far, making it the epicenter of the region.

The coronavirus that began late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan has claimed 2,663 lives in China thus far, with the number of cases on the mainland rising to 77,658.

With inputs from Bloomberg