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Thursday, October 29, 2020, 23:11
Virus: Riyadh to allow Umrah pilgrims from abroad from Nov 1
By Agencies
Thursday, October 29, 2020, 23:11 By Agencies

Saudis and foreign residents walk down a hallway during Umrah in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca, on Oct 4, 2020, as authorities partially resume the year-round pilgrimage amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. (BANDAR AL-DANDANI / AFP)

SEOUL / SYDNEY / ANKARA / TEHRAN / DUBAI - Saudi Arabia will open the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims from other countries from Nov 1, Saudi media reported on Thursday, as the kingdom relaxes measures it had taken to check the spread of the coronavirus.

"The Umrah pilgrimage is allowed for Muslims from across the world," Saudi state TV said, citing a statement from the Ministry of Pilgrimage. The Saudi-owned, Dubai-based TV channel Al-Arabiya said Umrah will be allowed from Nov 1.

Umrah is a pilgrimage which can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to Hajj, which has specific dates according to the Islamic lunar calendar.

Saudi Arabia closed its borders in February to foreign Umrah pilgrims, and in March stopped its own citizens and residents from taking part. In July, it allowed a limited number of domestic pilgrims to perform the Hajj.

Saudi Arabia's total COVID-19 cases rose by 416 to 346,047 while the death toll climbed by 19 to 5,348, the Saudi Health Ministry said. The tally of recoveries in the kingdom rose to 332,550.

Australia

Australia’s Mesoblast Ltd says nine of 12 ventilator-dependent adult patients with COVID-19 ARDS who received two doses of the company’s remestemcel-L under compassionate use were successfully discharged within a median of 10 days, according to a filing to the country’s stock exchange.

The drug is being evaluated in a Phase 3 randomized controlled trial of as many as 300 ventilator-dependent adults. The company has requested a meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration, which it expects to take place in November.

Victoria reported only one new infection on Thursday, a day after it lifted a four month lockdown in the city of Melbourne. 

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said that while there were three positive cases of COVID-19 detected in the past 24 hours, two may be old infections. 

"This is another good day," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne. Victoria, which accounts for more than 90% of the 905 deaths nationally, did not record any new deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Singapore will lift border restrictions for visitors from Victoria from Nov 6, according to a statement from the city-state’s civil aviation authority.

Visitors will have to under go a coronavirus polymerase chain reaction test upon arrival at Changi Airport. If the result is negative, they will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore without a need to serve a stay-home notice.

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh reported 1,681 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the tally to 404,760

It reported 25 related deaths, taking the toll to 5,886, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

Saudis and foreign residents walk down a hallway during Umrah in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca, on Oct 4, 2020, as authorities partially resume the year-round pilgrimage amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. (BANDAR AL-DANDANI / AFP)

India

India's COVID-19 tally surpassed the 8-million mark on Thursday, reaching 8,040,203, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

As many as 49,881 new COVID-19 cases were registered across the country over the past 24 hours.

With 517 deaths since Wednesday morning, the death toll in the country due to the pandemic reached 120,527.

Still there are 603,687 active COVID-19 cases in the country, while 7,315,989 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far.

Indian capital city New Delhi's Health Minister Satyender Jain on Thursday said it was too early to say if the record one-day surge of 5,673 cases in Delhi indicated the start of a third wave of COVID-19 infections.

"We should wait and observe the trend for a week. We will not be able to say anything in definite terms till then. It is too early to call it a third wave just yet. But, it might be a possibility," Jain was quoted by a local news agency as saying.

The annual Kolkata International Film Festival in India has been postponed from the scheduled Nov 5-12 to January due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film festival hosted by Kolkata, the capital of India's eastern state of West Bengal, is rescheduled for Jan 8-15, 2021 for its 25th edition, according to the state's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.

Indonesia

Indonesia reported 3,565 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the total to 404,048, data from the country's health ministry showed. The data also showed 89 additional deaths, bringing total fatalities to 13,701. 

Indonesia's cases and deaths from COVID-19 are the most in Southeast Asia.

Iran

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iran rose by 8,293 to 596,941, the health ministry spokeswoman told state TV on Thursday, the highest daily increase since the disease outbreak in the country.

The country reported 399 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the toll to 34,113.

Iraq

The traditional al-Baghdadi Museum was reopened to visitors recently, about six months after its closure amid the coronavirus pandemic in Iraq.

Located in an old building near the Tigris River, the museum is one of Baghdad's important cultural heritage and tourist landmarks, offering a nostalgic journey into the past daily life of the Iraqi capital through scenes featuring life-size wax models.

Isreal

Israel recorded 693 new COVID-19 cases and one more fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 312,417 and the death toll to 2,484. The total number of recoveries in Israel rose to 297,881.

Japan

Total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Japan exceeded the 100,000 mark on Thursday with 306 new cases, public broadcaster NHK said, as the number of daily infections has crept up in recent weeks.

The number of people infected with the coronavirus in Japan has come to 100,516, including those who contracted the virus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship earlier this year, after 809 people newly tested positive, NHK said.

Thursday's figure for Tokyo marks the first time the daily tally surpassed the 200-mark since Oct 24 when 203 novel coronavirus infections were reported.

Meanwhile, Shionogi & Co is planning clinical trials by year-end for what may be one of Japan’s first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines to reach the market, as the globe races to secure enough doses to battle the pandemic.

The company plans to put its vaccine candidate into Phase 1 clinical trials in December and shift into Phase 2 by January and apply for tentative approval from the government, Shionogi chief executive Isao Teshirogi told Reuters in an interview.

But a Phase 3 trial would likely be done overseas due to the relative lack of COVID-19 cases in Japan, he said.

Jordan

The tally of COVID-19 cases in Jordan surpassed 60,000 on Wednesday after 3,087 new infections were recorded.

The total COVID-19 cases in Jordan rose to 61,942, while the death toll from the virus climbed by 32 to 700, the Jordanian Health Ministry said in a statement.

A total of 158 patients were admitted to hospitals, increasing the number of cases receiving treatment in hospitals to 1,266, while the rest of COVID-19 infections are under home quarantine, according to the statement.

Speaking during a press conference, Minister of Health Nathir Obeidat said that none of the age group is immune to COVID-19, among whom the elderly are the most affected, highlighting that the ministry is committed to enhancing the health institutions' capacity.

Kuwait

Kuwait reported 814 new COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 123,906 and the death toll to 763 in the country.

The Kuwaiti health ministry also announced the recovery of 807 more patients, taking the total recoveries in the country to 114,923.

Malaysia 

Malaysia reported 649 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the national total to 30,090.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that seven of the new cases are imported and 642 are local transmissions.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the death toll at 246.

Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands has confirmed the first COVID-19 case among workers at a US military base in the Pacific island country.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Marshall Islands authorities said two military base workers arriving on Tuesday on a direct flight from Hawaii tested positive for the virus. 

Palestine

The Palestinian health ministry said that it recorded eight deaths from the virus, 450 new COVID-19 infections, and 612 recoveries in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

It has recorded 63,614 cases in the Palestinian territories, including 537 deaths, 56,323 recovered and 6,754 active cases receiving medical care. 

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry announced 250 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 131,939.

Meanwhile, 267 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 128,884, while the fatalities remained 230 as no new deaths were reported, according to a ministry statement.

Members of the Red Angels cheering squad prepare a banner in support for the world's battling against the coronavirus pandemic at the Olympic Park in Seoul on Oct 24, 2020. (ED JONES / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported seven new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 57,987.

READ MORE: Indonesia's confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 400,000

All Of the new cases are imported cases.

On Wednesday, seven more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 57,890 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, the ministry said.

South Korea

Four more US soldiers and four other US military-affiliated individuals in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday.

The USFK said in a statement that eight USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with the COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between Oct 23 and 27.

South Korea reported 125 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from 103 a day earlier and the largest gain in six days, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The country has now seen a total of 26,271 confirmed virus cases, and 462 deaths.

The Philippines

The Philippines' health ministry on Thursday recorded 1,761 new coronavirus infections and 33 more deaths. 

In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed infections had risen to 376,935, while deaths had reached 7,147. New COVID-19 cases in the Philippines increased by fewer than 2,000 in seven of the last 10 days.

The UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed 1,400 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, taking the tally of infections in the country to 129,024 and the death toll to 485.

A total of 1,708 new recoveries were registered, raising the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 122,458.

ALSO READ: Australia's coronavirus epicenter to ease curbs after no new cases

Turkey

Turkey reported 2,305 new COVID-19 patients, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 368,513.

In addition, 77 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 10,027, while 1,662 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 319,181, according to the Health Ministry.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged citizens to significantly reduce mobility and adopt a remote working method in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul over the rising number of the COVID-19 cases.

Koca said at a press conference after the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Committee meeting in Istanbul that the residents have to lessen contact with others to one third.

The minister also asked employers to urgently adopt remote working or switch to flexible working hours to reduce the risk of contamination of the coronavirus.

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