Qatar sends virus aid to Iran, Algeria

Qatar sent medical supplies early Wednesday to Iran and Algeria to support their battle against the novel coronavirus.

Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani ordered urgent medical aid to be sent to Algeria, according to a report by the Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The country also sent aid to Iran for the fourth time with some 16 tons of medical supplies, the report added.

Qatar has also sent virus aid to Palestine, Italy, Lebanon, Gaza, Tunisia, Nepal, and Rwanda.

Meanwhile, five hospitals and four health centers in Qatar were designated to solely treat COVID-19 patients along with a medical isolation center with a 12,500-bed capacity.

READ: COVID-19 cases, deaths rise in Arab countries

All of these centers test patients suspected of contracting the virus and those who need to be quarantined are sent to the medical isolation center, Health Ministry official Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad al-Thani told QNA.

He added that 10% of the patients show no clinical symptoms and taking precautions is vital.

Qatar has so far reported nearly 12,000 virus cases, while the death toll is 10.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed over 217,000 people worldwide and infected more than 3.1 million, while more than 928,000 have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University in the US.