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DUBAI: Countries in the Middle East have been implementing plans for a gradual return to normal life after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into strict lockdown measures.

º£½ÇÖ±²¥ has recently joined other Arab states including the UAE and Jordan that have eased restrictions on people’s movement.

But these countries have remained on high alert to avoid a new wave of infections.

April 26, 2020 (All times in GMT)

18:20 - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to 10 Downing Street on Sunday, Sky News reported, after spending a week in hospital with COVID-19 and two weeks recovering.

17:36 - Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) is coordinating with clients around the world to cut its crude supplies in line with commitments under a deal by oil producers to reduce output, state news agency KUNA reported.
KPC stressed its keenness to support the country’s role in making the agreement to rebalance global oil markets a success. The group of producers, known as OPEC+, has agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June.

13:40 - º£½ÇÖ±²¥ said it has set up six major regional laboratories in the Kingdom for coronavirus testing, each with a capacity to conduct 10,000 examinations daily.

13:29 - º£½ÇÖ±²¥ signed MoU agreements with China, Switzerland and the US to supply coronavirus test devices.

13:06 - º£½ÇÖ±²¥'s Ministry of Interior said gatherings are completely banned and should be reported to authorities during Ramadan.

13:04 - º£½ÇÖ±²¥'s health ministry reported three new coronavirus deaths, 1,223 new infected Covid-19 cases, and 142 cases have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 2,357.

11:24 â€“ Qatar reported 929 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 10,287 infected people.

11:22 â€“ UAE confirmed 536 new coronavirus cases, increasing the total to 10,349 infected people.

11:16 â€“ Kuwait reported 183 coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 3,075 infected people in the country.

10:35 â€“ Morocco confirms one coronavirus fatality, bringing the total to 160 deaths.

10:10 â€“ Lebanon confirms three new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 707 infected people in the country. 

10:00 â€“ Iran’s coronavirus cases increase to 90,481 infected people while fatalities reach 5,710.

09:10 â€“ Kuwait reported 150 new coronavirus recoveries, bringing the total to 806 recovered patients in the country. 

09:05 â€“ Spain’s number of coronavirus cases increased to 207,634 infected people while fatalities reached 23,190.

09:00 – The British must not rush to ease the coronavirus lockdown and should act cautiously to avoid a second spike in infections and a second lockdown that would damage public confidence, its stand-in leader said.

Foreign minister Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from COVID-19, was pressed to reveal the government’s thinking on how and when Britain might begin to see an easing of social distancing measures.

07:30 – Oman confirmed 93 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 1,998.

06:50 – UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, applauded his country for conducting over . The country’s health minister, Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al-Owais, said they have done 1,022,326 tests. He said the procedure has been made accessible across the country through hospitals and initiatives including drive-through facilities.

06:45 â€“ Israel recorded 100 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 15,398.

04:35 – Thailand has reported 15 new cases of coronavirus, but no new deaths.

00:49 – º£½ÇÖ±²¥ has allowed the opening of some economic and commercial activities during Ramadan.

The Kingdom has also partially lifted its curfew in all regions except in Macca.

00:40 – The US has recorded 2,494 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

00:25 – Mexico has confirmed its coronavirus toll has reached 13,842 with 1,305 fatalities.