Qatar, Kuwait report more COVID-19 cases, deaths

KUWAIT CITY/DOHA, Qatar

Health authorities in Qatar and Kuwait reported more coronavirus cases and deaths on Friday.

In Qatar, 687 new cases raised the total to 12,648, while the death toll rose by two to 12.

In Kuwait, four fatalities raised the death toll to 30, while 353 more cases pushed the total to 4,377, including 1,602 recoveries.

More than 3.28 million people in 187 countries and regions have been infected since the virus emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas in the world.

A significant number of COVID-19 patients – over 1.05 million – have recovered, but the disease has also claimed nearly 235,000 lives so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat