Turkey's COVID-19 cases top 3.2 mln; Iran slams U.S. for hindering vaccine procurement

CAIRO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's total COVID-19 cases surpassed 3.2 million on Sunday. Meanwhile, Iran has blasted the United States for hindering its efforts to buy vaccines from foreign countries.

Turkey confirmed 29,058 new COVID-19 cases, pushing its tally of infections to 3,208,173. Its death toll from the infectious virus surged by 153 to 31,076, while its tally of recoveries soared to 2,957,093 after 17,164 more patients recovered.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 523 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the tally in the country to 831,906.

The death toll from the virus in Israel increased to 6,183 with 18 new fatalities, while the total recoveries rose by 1,610 to 816,115.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 5.22 million, or 56.1 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Iran reported 8,751 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising its nationwide caseload to 1,855,674. The pandemic has claimed 62,397 lives in Iran, up by 89 in the past 24 hours, while the tally of recoveries surged by 8,105 to 1,593,219.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday blamed the U.S. sanctions for "hindering the availability of COVID-19 vaccines" for Iranians.

"We order from a country a (COVID-19) vaccine, but it says it is still afraid of U.S. sanctions," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Rouhani noted that his administration has allowed the private sector to import COVID-19 vaccines, using the subsidized foreign currency and under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 5,271 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 832,428.

The ministry also reported 35 new fatalities, raising the death toll from the virus to 14,212, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,820 to 745,935.

Jordan registered 7,183 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally to 589,316, while the death toll in the kingdom climbed by 82 to 6,554. The tally of recoveries in the kingdom increased by 9,417 to 485,507.

Lebanon's total COVID-19 cases rose by 2,724 to 461,062 on Sunday, while its death toll climbed by 38 to 6,096. The total recoveries from the virus in Lebanon reached 360,244.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded 2,128 new infections, taking its total COVID-19 cases to 455,197, while the death toll rose by four to 1,481. The tally of recoveries from the virus in the UAE surged by 2,243 to 438,706.

Saudi Arabia reported 531 new infections and seven more deaths from the coronavirus, taking its tally of COVID-19 cases to 388,325 and its total fatalities from the virus to 6,650. The tally of recoveries from the disease in the kingdom rose by 389 to 376,947.

Palestine reported 1,714 new COVID-19 cases and 24 more deaths, taking its total infections to 264,934 and its death toll to 2,834. The total number of recoveries in Palestine has climbed to 237,553, while there were 24,547 active cases in the Palestinian territories.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported 1,121 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 228,299.

The ministry also announced seven more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,286, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,236 to 212,596. A total of 14,417 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 251 in the intensive care units.

Qatari Health Ministry announced 639 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 177,774.

It also reported 355 more recoveries from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 162,910, while the death toll remained at 284 for the second day running.

In Oman, the health ministry announced 2,249 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 156,087.

It also confirmed 1,654 more recoveries, taking the overall recoveries to 142,420 while 11 new deaths were reported, pushing the death toll up to 1,661.