土耳其累计确诊病例超越伊朗

　　土耳其卫生部长法赫尔丁·科贾18日说，土耳其新冠肺炎确诊病例累计达到82329例，超过伊朗成为中东地区新冠肺炎疫情最严重国家。科贾说，18日土耳其新增121例新冠肺炎死亡病例，累计达到1890例。土耳其内政部宣布，从18日午夜开始，对一些省市的出入禁令再延长15天。

　　Turkey's confirmed coronavirus cases have risen to 82,329, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Saturday, overtaking neighboring Iran for the first time to register the highest total number of cases in the Middle East.

　　Koca said 121 more people have died, taking the death toll to 1,890. A total of 10,453 people have recovered so far, and the number of tests carried out over the past 24 hours came to 40,520, the minister said.

　　The Interior Ministry also said it was extending restrictions on travel between 31 cities for another 15 days starting at midnight on Saturday.

　　伊朗疫情逐渐“降温”各地开始陆续重启“低风险经济活动”

　　根据伊朗卫生部最新消息，当地时间18日，伊朗新增新冠肺炎确诊病例1374例，新增死亡73例，是3月12日以来最低。截至当天中午，伊朗累计确诊新冠肺炎病例80868例，5031例死亡。其中，死亡病例数连续5天不超过100例，且持续下降。

　　Meanwhile, Iran allowed some businesses in the capital city of Tehran to re-open on Saturday as the country's daily death toll from the new coronavirus fell to 73, its lowest since March 12. This brought the total death toll to 5,031, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpour said.

　　Saturday marked the fifth consecutive day with a death toll under 100 in Iran, one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East.

　　The total number of people diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, reached 80,868 as the country recorded 1,374 new cases in the past 24 hours, the spokesman said on state TV.

　　一些商铺、工厂和作坊复工复产。伊朗电视台播出的画面显示，卫生检查员在商铺间巡逻，提醒一名面包师戴好口罩;多间店铺员工向顾客发放手套。

　　So-called low-risk businesses – including many shops, factories and workshops – resumed operations in Tehran, a week after re-opening in the rest of the country, state television said.

　　Television footage showed health inspectors visiting shops and reminding a baker that he was required to wear a mask despite working near a hot oven. Other inspectors were seen controlling stores where employees handed out gloves to customers.

　　伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊18日说，如果民众认为斋月期间禁食将导致疾病或使疾病恶化，可以依据自身状况决定是否禁食。由于伊朗4月下旬将进入斋月，哈梅内伊先前呼吁民众在家度过斋月，避免前往人员聚集场所。

　　Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a fatwa, or religious ruling, that believers may abstain from fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan if it threatens their health.

　　"The fast is a religious necessity and a pillar of Islamic law and it is not permissible to abstain from fasting ... unless one has a rational belief that fasting may cause a sickness, worsen a disease or prolong it," Khamenei said in the ruling published on his official website.

　　In a speech earlier this month, Khamenei called on Iranians to create the sense of Ramadan in their homes, since public gatherings are likely to be banned because of the coronavirus outbreak when the fasting month starts around April 23.

　　伊朗媒体报道，德黑兰交通18日出现拥堵，原因是不少民众前往各个政府机构领取政府补助。政府应对新冠疫情小组表示，德黑兰疫情依然处于“流行”阶段，交通拥堵令人担忧。