Iran death toll jumps to 514, cases rise to 11,364
TEHRAN/DUBAI: Iran’s state TV said the coronavirus has killed another 85 people, pushing the country’s total death toll to 514 amid 11,364 confirmed cases as Persian Gulf countries scrambled to contain the outbreak.
Iran said Friday the security forces will clear the streets nationwide within 24 hours so all citizens can be checked for coronavirus - its toughest measure yet to combat the outbreak. The Islamic Republic has shut schools, postponed events and discouraged travel ahead of Nowrouz, the New Year holidays.
Dubai announced it would hold a major horse race without spectators later this month . The Dubai World Cup, planned for
March 28, is the world’s richest purse for horse racing, with a $12 million prize last year.
Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum, announced a $400 million stimulus plan for the city-state whose real-estate market and tourism industry were hit hard.
Dubai International Airport, the busiest for international travel and home to long-haul carrier Emirates, has seen passenger numbers plummet.
Tiny, energy-rich Qatar shut down all cinemas, theatres, museums, children’s play areas, gyms and wedding halls overnight.
King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa of the island nation of Bahrain meanwhile released nearly 1,500 prisoners, around 900 of whom were pardoned. The move appeared aimed at preventing the virus from spreading inside detention facilities.
It wasn’t immediately clear if those released included opposition activists detained as part of Bahrain’s years-long crackdown on all dissent.
‘SATELLITE PICS SHOW MASS GRAVES IN IRAN’
New satellite images have revealed mass graves dug recently in Qom, the Iranian city hard-hit by coronavirus, media reports said. The pictures, first reported by the New York Times, showed two large burial trenches, each around 90 metres long, dug in Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery. Pictures published by US-based Maxar Technologies showed much of the graveyard lying unused in October.