KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait

Three new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Kuwait, bringing the total number to 72, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Abdullah al-Sanad, a ministry spokesperson, said one individual recently returned from Iran, while two others came in contact with an infected person who arrived in Kuwait from Azerbaijan.

Only five of Kuwait’s 72 patients are in intensive care, four of whom are in stable condition, he added.

On Monday, the Kuwaiti government announced a series of measures to curb the outbreak.

They included closing down academic institutions for two more weeks and suspending all sports activities until further notice.

The government has also stopped issuing visas for countries impacted by the virus.

The coronavirus was first detected last December in Wuhan, China, but has since spread to more than 105 countries.

The global death toll from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, is almost 4,300, with more than 118,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization.


*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat