CAIRO: The number of cases of the new coronavirus detected in Egypt jumped by more than 100 for the first time on Friday, bringing total infections to 985, the health ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement that 120 new cases had been discovered, and that eight new deaths had been recorded. That brought the total number of deaths to 66.
Egyptian officials have said that once the number of known infections surpasses 1,000, the task of tracing contacts and quarantining those affected would become harder.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has said the next week will be critical in Egypt’s efforts to contain the illness.

DUBAI: The UAE announced 240 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,264.
The health ministry also announced the death of a 51-year-old Asian man who had underlying health problems, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to nine.
The ministry added that 12 patients had recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of patients who have recovered to 108.

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday gave the green light for soldiers to be deployed in a mostly ultra-Orthodox Jewish city seen as the center of Israel’s novel coronavirus outbreak.
“In light of the special situation in Bnei Brak following the restrictions due to the coronavirus, the IDF (army) will immediately present the necessary civil assistance to Bnei Brak municipality in fulfilling its responsibilities,” Netanyahu’s office said after talks with security and health officials.
Authorities have enforced restrictions on access to Bnei Brak, a majority ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv that is home to around 200,000 people.
More than 7,000 cases of COVID-19, including 36 deaths, have been officially declared in Israel.
According to local media, half of those infected are ultra-Orthodox Jews, a community which represents only around 10 percent of the Israeli population.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews have refused to comply with confinement measures and social distancing.
This week has seen tense exchanges as police stepped up patrols of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods that have become virus hot spots.
Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said the military would deploy 800-1,000 soldiers in Bnei Brak to “assist” local authorities “because of the severity of the situation there and because of the relative lack of implementation of health ministry instructions.”
Soldiers will help distribute food and medicine and assist with the evacuation of people with virus symptoms, Conricus told an online conference call with reporters.
He said the army would also seek to ensure health messages were reaching the ultra-Orthodox community.
Motti Ravid, director of Mayanei Yeshua hospital in Bnei Brak, told AFP earlier this week that with Internet and television prohibited in the ultra-Orthodox community on religious grounds, government directives took a long time to filter through.
Even for those using mobile phones, access to the Internet and most message services is blocked, shutting them off from the main form of communication used by the health ministry.
Conricus said soldiers would wear orange and most of them would not carry weapons.
He said he anticipated there would be misunderstandings and frustrations among the community, but “we are taking that into consideration.”
Netanyahu himself re-entered precautionary quarantine this week after Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, a leading member of the ultra-Orthodox community, tested positive for COVID-19.

CAIRO: United Arab Emirates extended on Thursday the suspension of entry of all valid visa holders who are outside the country for two additional weeks, the state news agency reported.
The statement added that the two-week period, which starts Thursday, could be renewed according to updates on the coronavirus pandemic, and that this comes as a precautionary measure.

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran’s parliament says speaker Ali Larijani has tested positive for the new coronavirus and is in quarantine.
Larijani is the highest-ranking official within Iran’s government to test positive for the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes.
Parliament announced Larijani’s illness Thursday on its website, saying he was receiving treatment in quarantine.
Iran has one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the virus.