TEHRAN/CAIRO: Iran said yesterday that the novel coronavirus had killed 129 more people, a new record high for a single day in one of the world's worst-hit countries. "Our plea is that everyone take this virus seriously and in no way attempt to travel to any province," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised news conference. The latest deaths bring the overall toll to 853 fatalities since Feb 19, when the government announced Iran's first two deaths from the COVID-19 disease.

Jahanpour also reported 1,053 confirmed new cases of infection in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 14,991. Tehran province had the highest number of new infections with 200 cases, about 50 fewer than the day before. The central province of Isfahan followed with 118 cases, with Mazandaran in the north of Iran coming next with 96. Khorasan Razavi province, home to the holy Shiite city of Mashhad, was not among the reported provinces with fresh cases. It had recorded 143 the day before.

"If we judge cautiously, it seems that the overall efforts by the people and interventions by the health system… are slowly showing their effects in Qom and Gilan," Jahanpour said. The holy city of Qom in central Iran, where the virus was first reported, had 19 new cases that took the total to 1,023. And confirmed infections in Gilan reached 858, with 18 new ones. The northern region is a popular tourist spot and among the worst-hit of Iran's 31 provinces.

Iran's coronavirus outbreak also killed a member of the clerical body that appoints the supreme leader, state media said, taking the death toll among serving and ex-officials to at least 12. Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, who was 78, died two days after testing positive for the COVID-19 disease and being hospitalized, state news agency IRNA reported. The official represented Tehran in the Assembly of Experts, an 88-strong body of clerics that appoints and monitors Iran's supreme leader.

At least 12 Iranian politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have now died of the illness, and 13 more have been infected and are either in quarantine or being treated. The virus also killed a prominent economist and political activist yesterday, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA. Fariborz Rais-Dana, 71, succumbed to the illness after being hospitalized for six days, ISNA reported. A prolific writer with a PhD from the London School of Economics, he had spent time in prison after being convicted of spreading propaganda against the system.

Meanwhile, Egypt said yesterday all flights would be suspended until the end of the month to stem the spread of the coronavirus, in a move expected to hit the key tourism industry. "Flights will be suspended from Thursday until March 31," Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told a televised news conference. He said the move was necessary to lessen social interaction especially among "tourists coming in or out of Egypt".

Losses from a flight shutdown are expected to reach more than 2.25 billion Egyptian pounds ($130 million), the prime minister said. The tourism industry is key to Egypt's economy, with revenues growing to $12.6 billion between 2018 and 2019, compared to $10 billion the previous year, according to the central bank. Tourism had taken a beating after the 2011 revolution and the 2015 downing of a Russian airliner by the Islamic State group hit visitor arrivals.

But it has shown signs of recovery in recent years. Though still far off the 14.7 million recorded in 2010, Egypt welcomed 11.3 million arrivals in 2018, compared with just 5.3 million in 2016. Egypt has not been spared from the spread of the novel coronavirus. There are 126 confirmed cases, including of foreigners, and the country has recorded two deaths - a German tourist and an Egyptian woman, according to authorities.

Twenty-six patients who were infected have recovered and released from hospital. Authorities have taken a number of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus, including closing schools and universities. Yesterday, the prime minister also urged Egyptians to "stay put" in their homes and avoid "panic shopping" saying the state has ample reserves of food items and other basic products.

Turkey yesterday suspended collective mosque prayers, including the important Friday prayer, until further notice to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. "It is necessary to suspend collective prayers at mosques for a period," said Ali Erbas, the head of Turkey's religious affairs authority, Diyanet. Around 90,000 mosques will however remain open to individuals who wish to pray individually, Erbas told reporters in Ankara.

Turkey has in recent days stepped up its measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, shutting schools and universities for a limited period. The interior ministry on Sunday said nightclubs, bars and discotheques would be "temporarily" closed from yesterday. Turkey officially has recorded 18 cases of the virus. On Sunday, thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia were quarantined. - Agencies