The number of Covid-19 cases in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region crossed 14,613,288 on 1 November, according to Worldometers data collated by MEED.

Countries in the GCC account for 17 per cent (2,521,575) of all regional cases, while Iran’s 5,924,638 infections make up 41 per cent of the 14.6-million tally.

Since 25 October, 106,396 new cases have been reported in the 17 Mena countries tracked by MEED.

The number is 10 per cent lower than the 118,244 new cases reported in the week to 25 October.

The majority of the 17 countries tracked by MEED reported weekly case growth of under 1.5 per cent.

Egypt’s weekly case growth rate grew marginally from 1.94 per cent last week to 1.97 per cent, while Libya’s case rate grew from 0.86 per cent to 1.23 per cent.

Improvements were noted in Syria, where the weekly rate of new cases dropped to 3.9 per cent from 6.2 per cent on 25 October, while Iran’s rate declined from 1.3 per cent to 1 per cent.

Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Health Ministry is considering vaccinations for children aged under 12 years to allow them to return to classrooms. The review of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine’s safety for children comes after the US' Food & Drug Administration found positive results in trials administering one-third of the typical vaccine dose to children aged 5 to 11 years.

UAE
The UAE’s Health & Prevention Ministry has approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5-11.

In Abu Dhabi, the emergency crisis and disasters committee has updated entry requirements for business, entertainment and sports events. Attendees must show the green status on the Al-Hosn app and a negative PCR test result within 96 hours of entry, and commit to wearing masks. The status of fully vaccinated individuals remains green as long as they conduct a PCR test every 30 days. People who received a second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine more than six months ago must take a booster to maintain their green status.

Bahrain
Manama has approved using the Sinopharm vaccine for children aged 3 to 11 years from 27 October. Approvals are also expected imminently to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children aged between 5 and 11 years.

Oman
Individuals vaccinated against Covid-19 with the Covaxin vaccine can travel to Oman without the requirement for quarantine upon arrival. India-headquartered Bharat Biotech manufactures Covaxin. 

Iran
South Korea is expected to send 1 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Iran on humanitarian grounds. Iran is understood to have signed agreements to secure about 100 million doses by the end of 2021 from multiple sources.

President Ebrahim Raisi has called for the implementation of Covid-19 precautions, warning that a new wave of the coronavirus should not take a high toll in the same way as the fifth wave. Concerns of a potential sixth wave come as Iran reopens its tourism sector to international tourists after almost 20 months of closures.

Egypt
The US has sent a third shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Cairo in as many weeks through the Covax alliance. The shipment of 3.6 million doses is part of the 8.25 million doses donated to Egypt from the US and is America’s fourth Covid-19 vaccine donation to Egypt.

Hungary has also shipped 250,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the country, while Canada has sent 784,280 Moderna vaccine doses through the Covax facility to the Arab country. Johnson & Johnson has also shipped about 1,058,400 doses through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team to be distributed through 1,100 vaccine centres in Egypt.

Iraq
Baghdad is considering providing Covid-19 vaccines for children as case numbers grow in Iraq. A specialised technical committee is studying the subject at the Health Ministry, spokesman Said al-Badr said last week. A statement by the ministry last week pointed to “an unprecedented rise” in cases amid a new strain detected in the region and that it did not “rule out the possibility of a fourth wave if the coronavirus pandemic hits the country”.

Morocco
Rabat has received a shipment comprising 850,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The US will also provide an additional $2m in Covid-19 assistance to support Morocco’s response to the pandemic.

Protests are reported to have erupted in cities across Morocco against a vaccine passport required to access indoor activities and travel. Proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and offices, and for domestic and international air travel, has been mandatory for Moroccans since 21 October. A small number of demonstrators are reported to have marched against the vaccine pass in Rabat and Casablanca.

Lead image: CDC / Unsplash