Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages over virus, Iran says 26 dead

Coronavirus fatalities in Iran jump to at least 26 as Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages and Bahrain extends travel bans in face of Mideast outbreak

Saudi Arabia on Thursday halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move that came as the Mideast has over 300 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.

Iran now has the highest death toll from the virus — 26 dead from among 245 confirmed cases — outside of China, where the outbreak began. As Iran’s 80 million people find themselves increasingly isolated in the region by the outbreak, the country’s sanctions-battered economy saw its currency slump to its lowest level against the US dollar in a year on Wednesday.There have been no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Saudi Arabia amid the outbreak.

More recently, Saudi Arabia faced the danger from another coronavirus, one that caused the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, which jumped from ill camels to humans. The kingdom increased its public health measures during the hajj in 2012 and 2013, though no outbreaks occurred amid the pilgrimage.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

trtworld /  🏆 101. in US

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages over virus; Iran says 22 deadSaudi Arabia has halted travel to Islam's holiest sites over fears about a new viral epidemic months ahead of the hajj pilgrimage
Read more »

Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages over virusLATEST: Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages over coronavirus.
Read more »

Saudi Arabia halts travel to Islam's holiest site over virusDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move...
Read more »

Saudi Arabia suspends entry for pilgrims over coronavirusThe Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Umrah, attracts tens of thousands of devout Muslims from all over the globe each month.
Read more »