Manama: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has crossed 1.77 lakhs, according to official figures.
The GCC Statistical Centre’s online tally showed 1,77,573 cumulative Covid-19 cases as of Saturday. The data showed the number of deaths reached 841, while the number of people who recovered stands at 76,301.
Confirmed cases of the COVID-19 have been rising by 5,000 to 7,000 cases a day as testing becomes more available in the GCC.
Saudi Arabia remains the country with the most infections – over 70,161 in the Gulf. It also has the highest number of deaths, which reached 379 on Saturday. On a positive note, over 41,236 have recovered from the virus- 58.77 percent either cured or left the hospital. The number of active cases in the Gulf stands at 1,01,272.
The United Arab Emirates has the second highest number of total confirmed cases in the region at 28,704, with 244 deaths. In cases per million, it is third in the region. The UAE was the first country in the region to record a case of coronavirus, a 73-year-old Chinese woman on January 29, less than four and half months ago.
Qatar has 42,213 total confirmed case, while Kuwait has 20,464 total cases. A total of 8774 cases confirmed in Bahrain so far, while Oman has 7257 cases.
The Covid-19 death tally in the GCC is Saudi- 379, UAE-244, Kuwait -148, Oman – 36, Qatar – 21 and Bahrain – 13.
The Gulf region saw on Saturday 32 people die of Covid-19 in 24 hours, the highest daily Covid-19 death toll in the Gulf yet.
The six nation block recorded 6,709 new cases of infection on Saturday alone, continuing an upward curve.
The coronavirus hit the Gulf region earlier than Europe or the US. Many of the first recorded cases either came directly from China, or from nearby Iran. The first known covid-19 cases was reported in the UAE on January 29, while the first coronavirus related-death was reported in Bahrain on March 16.
In comparison to other regions, the GCC states moved swiftly to enact restrictions on movement and gatherings in order to stem the spread of the virus.
Consequently, they have been successful in keeping numbers relatively low. Even if most of the GCC states have experienced a relatively rapid rise in cases during the Month of May, their death rates have remained low in comparison to worse-hit countries in the world.
Though the cases are soaring, the overall comparison shows that GCC has reported one of the lowest rates of infections, around 1.77 lakh cases - or 3.28 percent- in a population of over 5.40 crore.
On Saturday, Saudi registered 15 deaths while confirming 2,442 new cases. Ten more people died in Kuwait which confirmed 900 new cases. The UAE recorded three deaths and 812 new cases. Qatar recorded 1,732 new cases while confirming two deaths. Oman registered two new deaths, which reported 463 new cases and Bahrain saw 360 new cases.
