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Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq report coronavirus cases linked to Iran

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Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq on Monday recorded their first new coronavirus cases, all people who had been in Iran, which raised its toll from the disease to 12 dead and 61 infected.

Iraq announced its first case, an Iranian theology student in the holy city of Najaf, who had entered the country before the government banned the entry of non-Iraqis coming from Iran.

Kuwait detected the virus in three people among 700 who had been evacuated on Saturday from the Iranian city of Mashhad.

They were a 53-year-old Kuwaiti man, a 61-year-old Saudi man and a 21-year-old whose nationality was unclear, the health ministry said.

In neighbouring Bahrain, the health ministry said a Bahraini citizen who arrived from Iran had been diagnosed with the disease.

Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew on Monday after sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy and South Korea. The virus has infected nearly 77 000 people and killed more than 2 500 in China.

Qatar Airways said it would ask passengers arriving from Iran and South Korea to remain in home isolation or a quarantine facility for 14 days. Qatar has not recorded any coronavirus cases.

Kuwait Airways and Iraq Airways last week suspended flights to Iran while Saudi Arabia suspended travel to Iran.

In the video below, the US government advises against travelling to curb the spread of the coronavirus from and to other countries: 

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