Algeria announced on Saturday one death from the new coronavirus, bringing the total to three.
The latest victim was a 51-year-old woman.
The health ministry registered 10 new patients, taking the country’s tally to 37. Twelve patients have been discharged from quarantine after recovering from the disease.
Morocco, meanwhile, suspended flights to and from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal over coronavirus fears, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. It has also suspended all flights with China, Spain, Italy, France and Algeria.
Morocco confirmed nine new coronavirus cases on Saturday bringing the total number of infected people to 17, the health ministry said. One patient has died and one has recovered.
The new cases include the country's first locally transmitted case while the remaining cases contracted the virus in Spain, Italy and France, the ministry said in a statement.
Morocco has suspended all football matches, closed all schools and cancelled gatherings of more than 50 people.
More cases in Lebanon
Lebanon on Saturday said it has registered 93 cases of the virus.
The government on Friday decided to shut Lebanon’s border with Syria starting Monday in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Syrian authorities have been informed of the closure, which will last one week.
The Palestinian government on Saturday said the number of patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus has reached 38, all of them West Bank residents.
Three new cases were diagnosed in Bethlehem, said government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem. He said they likely contracted the virus after coming in contact with other patients.
The Palestinian Authority suspended prayers in mosques and churches in the Israeli occupied West Bank on Saturday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and Gaza’s Hamas rulers said all the enclave’s border crossings would be shut for travel.
The PA’s Religious Affairs Ministry asked Palestinians to worship at home.
“In light of the Health Ministry’s recommendation to minimize contact between people and to reduce gatherings as much as possible we call upon our Muslim people in Palestine to hold their prayers at home,” a ministry statement said.
In Ramallah, a prayer leader reciting the Muslim call to prayer at one mosque in the early evening added the words: “Pray at home, pray at home.”
The Hamas-led government said it was closing Gaza’s border crossings with Israel and Egypt for travel, excluding life-threatening cases that required medical treatment outside the enclave. Gatherings would be limited to 100 people and schools were to remain shut through March.
Jordan tightens border controls
Jordan said it would stop all incoming and outgoing passenger flights into the country from Tuesday as it tightens border controls and bans public gatherings and events to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Announcing the move on Saturday, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said universities and schools would be closed for two weeks and all tourist sites and all sports facilities and cinemas would also be shut.
Jordan’s only confirmed COVID-19 case left hospital on Friday after treatment, but the country is concerned about the speed at which the virus has spread in neighboring countries.
It has already closed its borders with Egypt, Iraq, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
Cargo and commercial traffic are exempted from the sea port, land crossing and airport closures to ensure the continued supply of goods and commodities.
In a televised speech, Razzaz called on citizens to stay at home as much as possible, adding that the measures were needed because of the “unprecedented” nature of the global epidemic.
The draconian moves also involved a ban on all prayers in mosques and churches across the country and the halting of all hospital and prison visits.
Egypt will suspend schools and universities for two weeks starting March 15 amid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the presidency said in a statement on Saturday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also called for a 100 billion Egyptian pound ($6.38 billion) fund to finance the state’s “comprehensive plan” for tackling the disease, the statement said.
The country has so far registered 93 cases of the new coronavirus, with two fatalities.
