Coronavirus claims more lives in Oman, Bahrain

Local health authorities on Wednesday recorded eight deaths from the novel coronavirus in Oman and another three in Bahrain.

In a statement, the Omani Health Ministry said 1,679 additional cases were registered, raising the total count to 61,247, including 281 deaths, and 39,038 recoveries.

In Bahrain, three people died from the virus over the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

The Gulf state’s tally now stands at 34,078 cases, including 114 deaths, and 29,753 recoveries.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the countries hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed over 578,600 people worldwide, with more than 13.32 million confirmed cases, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The number of recoveries from the pandemic across the globe has neared 7.4 million early Wednesday.

* Writing Mahmoud Barakat