DUBAI — Qatar reported 1,554 new coronavirus cases and one fatality over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of active cases to 31,346, the health ministry said on Thursday. As the country's cases continue to increase, its death toll has remained low with only 17 fatalities reported to date. Qatar has also seen increasing recoveries daily with 688 new recoveries, raising the total to 7,288 so far. As many as 24 new cases have been admitted to the intensive care due to complications resulting from the infection over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people currently in intensive care units to 171, the ministry said. The death which was reported on Thursday was of an 81-year-old resident who was receiving medical care in the intensive care. The health ministry has administered 5,045 tests over the past 24 hours and 175,482 total since the virus was first detected in the country. Qatar currently has the second highest number of cases in the GCC region despite its smaller population of only 2.76 million. The first case in the country was confirmed on Feb. 27, but the number of cases began to rise more steeply from mid-March onwards, beginning with the announcement of 238 new cases in a single day on March 11. — Al Arabiya English
