CAIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's health ministry reported 13,421 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total nationwide infections to 801,894. Meanwhile, Palestine and Jordan confirmed record daily cases.

The pandemic has so far claimed 42,941 lives in Iran, up by 480 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

A total of 576,983 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 5,712 remain in intensive care units, Lari added.

Palestine reported record 1,251 new COVID-19 cases and nine more fatalities, bringing the tally of infections to 78,571 and the death toll to 667. The total cases of recoveries reached 68,486.

Jordan confirmed record 7,933 new cases and 60 more deaths, pushing the tally of infections to 163,926 and the death toll to 1,969. The total recoveries in the kingdom rose to 94,896.

The Iraqi Health Ministry reported 2,349 new COVID-19 cases, warning "a full or partial curfew" could return amid the surge in cases.

"If we notice an increasing number of infections, then we will have to re-impose a full or partial curfew," said Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the ministry's Public Health Department, as the country's total number of cases has reached 526,852.

The ministry also reported 43 new deaths and 2,151 more recovered cases, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 11,795 and the total recoveries to 455,176.

Turkey reported 4,215 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number in the country to 425,628, the Turkish Health Ministry announced. And 116 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 11,820.

A total of 2,592 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 361,655 in Turkey since the outbreak.

Turkey's new anti-coronavirus measures, including a series of partial lockdowns and new working hours of businesses, will be valid starting on Nov. 20, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

Citizens aged 65 and above could only go outdoors between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m, and those under 20 would be able to go out from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m, the ministry announced the details of the restrictions in a written statement.

A curfew would be imposed on weekends between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m. until further notice, the ministry added.

Restaurants, cafes, shopping malls and hairdressers would be operational from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m, while restaurants and cafes would only provide takeaway and delivery services, the statement noted.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 663 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 326,200.

The number of death cases rose to 2,738, with two new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 330 to 308, out of 539 patients hospitalized. The number of recoveries rose to 315,314, with 663 new ones, while the active cases stand at 8,148.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel reopened the tourist areas in the Dead Sea and the southernmost resort city of Eilat, two months after a full lockdown over the high COVID-19 morbidity in the country.

The two tourist sites were reopened after the Israeli Corona Cabinet declared them "green" in terms of the virus spread.

Morocco registered 5,391 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the North African country to 306,995, including 5,013 death and 253,351 recoveries.

Kuwait reported 452 new COVID-19 cases and nine more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 138,337 and the death toll to 857 in the country.

The Kuwaiti health ministry also announced the recovery of 798 more patients, taking the total recoveries in the country to 129,839.

The Omani health ministry announced 411 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 121,129. And 10 others reportedly died, pushing the death toll to 1,360.

The Qatari health ministry announced 219 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 136,441.

Meanwhile, 256 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 133,473, while the fatalities remained 235 for the third day running as no new death was reported.

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 cases reached 110,037 with 2,084 new infections, while the death toll increased to 852, with 13 new deaths.

Lebanon has cancelled all kinds of national celebrations on the occasion of the country's 77th Independence Day due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a statement by the Presidential office said Wednesday. Enditem

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