Bahrain records first coronavirus death in GCC

Bahrain records first coronavirus death in GCC
Doctors check a traveller in their designated residential area to check on residents who returned from Iran if anyone is infected with the novel coronavirus, at Isa Town Health Center, south of Manama, Bahrain, on March 2. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Manama: A Bahraini woman has died from the novel coronavirus, the health ministry announced on Monday, marking the first death from the disease among Gulf Co-operation Council states.

The 65-year-old woman had pre-existing medical conditions, the ministry said on Twitter.

Nearly 1,000 cases of the virus have been recorded so far across the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Most of those infected have been people returning from Iran, where more than 700 people had died in the outbreak by Sunday.

Facing a mounting public health threat, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman have taken drastic measures to combat the pandemic.

The Gulf countries have shut down cinemas and other entertainment centres -- some even closing gyms and spas.

Kuwait has taken the strictest measures in the GCC by largely locking down the country over the weekend.

Almost 170,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 6,509 have died, with cases and deaths outside China overtaking those in the country where the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally. Infections outside China have been reported by 156 countries.

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