CAIRO, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from COVID-19 in Iran on Thursday crossed the 40,000-mark amid continued resurge of the pandemic in the Islamic republic. Meanwhile, Morocco set a new record in daily coronavirus infections with 6,195 cases.

The pandemic has claimed 40,121 lives in Iran, up by 457 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

Iran, the worst-hit country in the Middle East, reported 11,517 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total infections to 726,585. The daily infections in Iran have exceeded 10,000 for four consecutive days so far.

A total of 541,566 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 5,614 remain in intensive care units, Lari added.

Morocco broke a new record in daily COVID-19 infections with 6,195 new cases, taking the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 276,821, while the death toll rose by 64 to 4,570.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco surged to 226,040 after 4,297 new ones were added, while 967 patients were treated in the intensive care units, the Moroccan Health Ministry said.

Iraqi Health Ministry reported 3,298 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 511,806. The death toll in Iraq rose by 50 to 11,532, while the tally of recoveries went up by 2,571 to 439,228.

Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the Health Ministry's Public Health Department, told the official Iraqi News Agency that the ministry plans to increase the capacity of hospitals specialized in treating the coronavirus and diagnostic laboratories.

Wafaa Hussein, a member of the parliamentary health committee, said the committee has reservation about the Ministry of Education's decision to start the new school year, warning of further increase in COVID-19 infections.

Turkey confirmed 2,841 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally to to 404,894, while the death toll climbed by 88 to 11,233, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.

A total of 2,181 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 346,794 in Turkey since the outbreak.

Smoking in public areas across Turkey was banned as of Thursday in a bid to slow down the surge in the daily COVID-19 infections, the Interior Ministry announced.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also urged citizens to protect themselves from the coronavirus by wearing masks and following social distancing rules.

Saudi Arabia reported 311 new coronavirus cases and 15 more deaths on Thursday, raising the tally of infections in the kingdom to 352,160 and the total death count to 5,605.

The total number of recoveries rose by 412 to 339,114, while 798 patients remained in critical condition, according to the Saudi Health Ministry.

Israel recorded 358 more COVID-19 cases as of early Thursday evening, raising the tally to 321,684, while the death toll stood at 2,700 with no new death was reported.

Israel's Ministry of Health announced a decision to shorten the period of home quarantine from 14 to 12 days for those who had contact with coronavirus patients and passengers arriving from abroad, who are obliged to undergo immediate home quarantine.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded 1,136 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the total infections to 146,735 and the death toll to 523.

The tally of recoveries in the UAE rose to 141,215, while there are 4,997 active coronavirus cases.

Kuwait reported 773 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 134,932 and the death toll to 830 in the country.

The Kuwaiti health ministry also announced the recovery of 688 more patients, taking the total recoveries in the country to 125,593.

Jordan reported 5,685 new COVID-19 cases and 80 more deaths from the virus, pushing the tally of infections in the kingdom to 132,086 and the death toll to 1,547.

Jordanian Interior Minister Tawfiq Halalmeh resigned on Thursday following two days of festive gun-firing and protests after Tuesday's parliamentary elections.

Despite a total lockdown across Jordan imposed since Tuesday night, video clips of thousands of Jordanians celebrating the results of the elections, some of whom firing bullets in the air as an expression of joy, and others burning tires in protests went viral on social media in recent days.

King Abdullah II of Jordan on Thursday called these events "a clear violation of the law and a transgression of the safety and health of society."

Oman's Health Ministry on Thursday announced 256 new COVID-19 infections, and five more deaths, pushing the total confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 119,442 and the death toll to 1,326.

In Qatar, the health ministry reported 245 new COVID-19 infections and one more fatality from the disease, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 135,132 and the death toll to 234. Enditem

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