国际英语新闻:Roundup: Lebanon receives 1st batch of COVID-19 vaccines; Iran's tally hits 1,510,873

CAIRO, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon received on Saturday the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, The total number of COVID-19 infections confirmed so far in Iran is 1,510,873, after 7,120 new cases were detected in the past 24 hours.

Lebanon registered 2,906 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 336,992 in the country, while the death toll from the virus went up by 46 to 3,961.

Lebanon received the first batch of 28,500 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The country expects to receive more doses of the vaccine in the coming weeks, in addition to Astrazeneca vaccines at the beginning of March.

The vaccines will be distributed among several hospitals, as the vaccination campaign is set to start on Sunday in Lebanon.

In Iran, as the tally of COVID-19 infections reached 1,510,873, its death toll increased by 74 to 58,883.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Saturday for stricter COVID-19 border controls, noting another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic may be on the way in the country.

"More attention must be paid to foreign entries, especially from countries infected with new variants of the virus," he was quoted as saying by official news agency IRNA.

The Iranian president called on a general effort to prevent a new wave of the outbreak before Nowruz, the Iranian new year, given the social and economic importance of the yearly celebrations.

Morocco registered 479 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of confirmed cases in the North African country to 478,135.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 458,504 after 548 new ones were added, while its death toll rose to 8,460 with 10 new fatalities registered during the last 24 hours.

Israel reported 3,013 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 721,759.

The death toll from the COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,340 after 36 new fatalities were added, while the total recoveries rose to 655,463, with 3,941 newly recovered cases.

The number of people vaccinated against the COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 3.82 million, or 41.1 percent of the total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Israel's Ministry of Finance on Saturday announced a new program to support disabled people during the coronavirus crisis.

The total amount of the program stands at half a billion new shekels (about 154 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said.

Turkey reported 7,706 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total cases in the country to 2,579,896. The death toll has climbed to 27,377 after 93 more patients died.

The total recoveries in Turkey have reached 2,468,419.

In Kuwait, 851 new COVID-19 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 176,903.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced six more deaths, taking the death toll to 998, while its tally of recoveries rose by 717 to 165,254.

Kuwait has banned the entry of non-Kuwaitis to the country for two weeks starting on Feb. 7, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In addition, it decided to suspend all commercial activities between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time, excluding pharmacies and grocery shops, also starting from Feb. 7 for up to a month which can be extended.

Qatar announced 453 new COVID-19 infections, raising the number of total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 156,804.

Another 198 people recovered from the infectious disease, bringing the overall recoveries in Qatar to 148,137, while the fatalities increased by one to 255.

Algeria reported 210 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the North African country to 110,513.

The death toll from the virus in Algeria rose to 2,935 after three new fatalities were added, while 188 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 75,876.

Jordan on Saturday reported 1,240 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the caseload to 344,803, said a joint statement issued by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.

It also announced 11 deaths, taking the death toll to 4,444. There are currently 14,467 active COVID-19 cases in Jordan.

The statement added that 1,181 recoveries were registered in hospitals and home quarantine, bringing the total number of recoveries to 325,892.