BEIRUT: Lebanese people must wear face masks despite the country entering the transitional phase of its anti-coronavirus measures, Health Minister Hamad Hassan said.
A further eight cases were recorded in Lebanon on Saturday, raising the total number of cases to 704. Two further deaths have raised the death toll to 24.
The Matn region is still recording the highest number of infections, with the number of cases in this area rising to 141. It is followed by Beirut, where the number of cases stands at 115.  
The Ministry of Health is carrying out random laboratory PCR tests in various regions and the government is scheduled to ease its coronavirus measures, despite an extension of the general mobilization for another two weeks.
Hassan said during his tour to the southern suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa that the transitional phase had started. “It is still necessary for the Lebanese to use face masks. They should continue to take precautions.”
There were a further two deaths, raising the death toll to 24. One of them was a male in his sixties being treated at the Center Hospitalier Universitaire Notre Dame des Secours. He was from the town of Tula in Batroun District.
Lebanon’s Grand Mufti opened the doors of Dar Al-Fatwa, which is Lebanon’s religious authority for the Sunni community, on the second day of Ramadan due to the increase of people in need and public figures made donations at the headquarters. 
The charity drive also provided an occasion for former heads of government to respond to a speech from Prime Minister Hassan Diab in which he slammed the governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon and his political opponents.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora stressed the need for restoring the status of the constitution, the Taif Agreement which ended the civil war in Lebanon, “efficiency and merit” in bearing responsibility, and to subject everyone to accountability under constitutional frameworks.
He added: “How can the confidence of people be restored if we have not solved the file of judicial formations, and how can we win the trust of the Lebanese people if we have not implemented the electricity law that has been in place for 18 years?”
He said that the International Monetary Fund was the only way for countries to restore credibility. 
Another former prime minister, Tammam Salam, said there needed to be awareness among officials who should avoid confrontation that only led to political uncertainty and speculation.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who blames Diab for the economic crisis, said what was going on was “floundering in the abyss of experimental ideas and searching for victims in politics, economy and administration.”
The collapse occurred as a result of the delay in defining the paths of rescue since the first government of the present administration, he added, with the collapse continuing throughout the past few months.
“In the decision-making rooms, it is proposed to change the identity of Lebanon at all levels, and the most dangerous thing in this scheme is the use of popular anger as fuel to burn the democratic, economic and social identity of Lebanon,” he warned.

DUBAI: Iran should draw up economic plans based on a worst-case scenario of nearly a year of disruptions due to the coronavirus, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, as the death toll from the disease rose by 76 to 5,650.
“Our first request is that we should plan production long-term based on a pessimistic view that we might face this virus … for months,” Rouhani said in a meeting with heads of Iranian private companies carried live on state TV.
“Maybe (we will face this) till the end of the year, we do not know,” Rouhani added, referring to the Iranian calendar year which ends in March 2021.
Earlier, a Health Ministry spokesman said the total number of people diagnosed with the virus had reached 89,328, of whom 3,096 were in a critical condition.
Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said the country’s daily death toll had fallen by about 70% from its peak, while the number of coronavirus patients in hospital had fallen by about half.
Iran is one of the Middle Eastern countries worst affected by the COVID-19 respiratory disease and has one of the world’s highest death tolls. 

The Turkish government repatriated more than 3,000 nationals from cities around the world, state news agency repatriation reported on Friday.

Returning nationals were placed in quarantine upon arrival, shortly after going through routine health checks coordinated by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

Turkish nationals returned from 59 countries that include, Russia, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

All the returning citizens will be placed in quarantine for a period of 14 days.

Turkey has repatriated nearly 25,000 citizens in total ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

DUBAI: Organizers of a march in Alexandria were arrested on Friday after a video of people carrying a Kaaba model in the streets – on the first night of Ramadan – went viral amid the coronavirus outbreak, local daily Egypt Today reported.

A group of people reportedly in Alexandria touring the streets with a scale model of Kaaba, singing: “there’s no corona” #egypt pic.twitter.com/AQw0PU4WlP

— Deena Hassan (@deenahsn) April 24, 2020

People were celebrating the start of holy Islamic month of Ramadan before the night-time curfew hours. Crowd in the circulated video triggered social media users who used the #Alexandria hashtag on twitter to express their anger.

A twitter user said: “Although I don’t understand the purpose of this march, how is the Kaaba model linked to the celebration? people are partying and underestimating the seriousness of the coronavirus.”

لاحول ولاقوه الا بالله مع اني مفهمتش المغزا من جروجهم للشارع ليه وايه علاقه الكعبه بالموضوع طالما هناك زفه وطبول ورقص واستهزاء بالوباء والحزر ..عموما فوضنا امرنا لله واليه المشتكي

— alarby62 (@CGFmqbLiNRxP2oC) April 24, 2020

Another twitter user said: “Unfortunately, this is the current situation in Muharram Bey, people carrying a model for the honorable Kaaba and somebody told them to circulate it before hanging it as a Ramadan lantern.”

دي للأسف حاليا وفي محرم بك نموذج للكعبة الشريفة وفي حد قالهم يطوفوا بيها قبل ما يعلقوعا كفانوس رمضان … لله الأمر من قبل ومن بعد ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله العلي العظيم

— youssef soliman (@youssef_soliman) April 24, 2020

The night-time curfew hours in Egypt during the month of Ramadan were set to start from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli announced.

A twitter user also said: “I woke up just like you all and saw people performing Umra in Alexandria.”

انا صحيت زيي زيكم بالظبط لقيت الناس بتعمل عمره فى #اسكندريه pic.twitter.com/eteG52YpQ8

— حسام الشريف (@Fouly44) April 24, 2020

Earlier in March, people in Alexandria took to the streets to protest against the coronavirus pandemic that hit the country in February, neglecting the fact that the virus spreads faster in crowds.

A video of the protest had also been circulated over social media and caused anger and panic among social media users.

Wrong on so many levels

— Ari (@shithousingfcs) March 24, 2020

The total number of coronavirus patients in Egypt has reached 4,092, while the number of fatalities has risen to 294. Egypt has also recorded a total of 1,75 recoveries.

TEHRAN: Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani called on the country’s armed forces on Friday to maintain vigilance against “provocative actions by foreigners in the region,” state TV reported, as a war of words with the US escalated.

The comment came after the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday Tehran would destroy US warships if its security is threatened in the Arabian Gulf.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran over “harassment” of US vessels. Trump said he had instructed the US Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass it at sea, though said later he was not changing the military’s rules of engagement.

“We must carefully follow strategies ensuring the sustainable stability of the region while maintaining vigilance and authoritative presence in the area,” state TV quoted Rouhani as telling Defence Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami by telephone.

In a phone call to Revolutionary Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami, Rouhani “referred to provocative actions by foreigners in the region and the need to maintain vigilance against these moves”, state television reported.

Earlier this month, the US military said 11 Revolutionary Guards naval vessels came close to US Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, calling the moves “dangerous and provocative”.

Tehran blamed its longtime adversary for the incident. On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, over the recent tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Antagonism between Iran and the United States has sharpened since 2018, when Trump withdrew from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Animosities spiked in early January when top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Iran retaliated on Jan. 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq where US troops were stationed.

Stoking tension over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programmes, Iran’s Guards said on Wednesday they had successfully launched the country’s first military satellite into orbit. The announcement drew protests from Washington, London and Paris.