DUBAI -- The total number of coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Cooperation Council states passed 100,000 on Monday, according to a Reuters tally based on official figures. The six GCC states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The number has risen from 15,000 cases on April 14 to 100,000 less than a month later. There have been a total of 557 deaths. Saudi Arabia has the highest number of cases, but also by far the largest population. On Monday it announced 1,966 new infections, bringing the total to 41,014 out of a population of around 30 million. Oman is the least worst hit. It has a total of 3,573 cases out of a population of 4.8 million, after recording 174 new cases on Monday. Several of the Arabian Gulf states recently experienced a spike in infections as they eased some of the restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus around the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. The numbers are low in comparison to European countries and the US, which is the new epicenter of the disease, but have been rising recently, particularly among migrant workers in the region. -- Al Arabiya English
