In pictures: Coronavirus spreads in Gulf and Middle East

Members of Kuwait's national guard wearing safety masks keep watch outside a hotel in the capital where Kuwaitis returning from Iran are quarantined and tested for coronavirus COVID-19, on February 24

Kuwaiti women wear protective masks at the Mubarakiya Market in Kuwait city

A man wears a protective face mask, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Kuwait

A man wears protective face mask, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Kuwait

A worker disinfects subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. Iran's government said Tuesday that more than a dozen people had died nationwide from the new coronavirus, rejecting claims of a much higher death toll of 50 by a lawmaker from the city of Qom that has been at the epicenter of the virus in the country

Pedestrians wear masks to help guard against the Coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. The head of Iran's counter-coronavirus task force has tested positive for the virus himself, authorities announced Tuesday, showing the challenges facing the Islamic Republic amid concerns the outbreak may be far wider than officially acknowledged. The announcement comes as countries across the Mideast say they’ve had confirmed cases of the virus that link back to Iran, which for days denied having the virus.

A customer talks with a Pharmacist at a drugstore in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. The head of Iran's counter-coronavirus task force has tested positive for the virus himself, authorities announced Tuesday, showing the challenges facing the Islamic Republic amid concerns the outbreak may be far wider than officially acknowledged. The announcement comes as countries across the Mideast say they've had confirmed cases of the virus that link back to Iran, which for days denied having the virus.

An Iranian sanitary worker disinfects Qom's Masumeh shrine on February 25, 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus which reached Iran, where there were concerns the situation might be worse than officially acknowledged. The deaths from the disease -- officially known as COVID-19 -- in the Islamic republic were the first in the Middle East and the country's toll with so far a dozen people officially reported dead, is now the highest outside mainland China, the epidemic's epicentre.

The deaths from the disease -- officially known as COVID-19 -- in the Islamic republic were the first in the Middle East and the country's toll with so far a dozen people officially reported dead, is now the highest outside mainland China, the epidemic's epicentre.

Iranian sanitary workers disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine on February 25, 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus which reached Iran, where there were concerns the situation might be worse than officially acknowledged.

Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting coronavirus, as they walk in the street in Tehran

Members of an Iraqi Shiite family, all wearing masks, pose for a picture during their visit on February 25, 2020 to the shrine of Imam Ali in the holy Iraqi central city of Najaf, where the first case of coronavirus COVID-19 has been documented in Iraq

Anti-government demonstrators wearing protective masks against the coronavirus stant at the entrance of a tent in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on February 25, 2020. Iraq on February 24 confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in Najaf, according to health officials. A country with a dilapidated healthcare system, Iraq often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where at least a dozen people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the country's first confirmed case

Iraqi students distribute leaflets to anti-government demonstrators about coronavirus prevention in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on February 25, 2020. Iraq on February 24 confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in Najaf, according to health officials. A country with a dilapidated healthcare system, Iraq often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where at least a dozen people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the country's first confirmed case

Iraqi women demonstrators wear protective face masks, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, as they carry Iraqi flag during ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad

Iraqi children wear protective masks as they walk near a religious school where the first coronavirus case was detected, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, in the holy city of Najaf,

An Iranian student, reportedly the first case of coronavirus COVID-19 documented in Iraq, looks on as he stands holding an intraveinous injection (IV) bag connected to his wrist, at a quarantine zone in a hospital in the central Iraqi holy shrine city of Najaf on February 24, 2020. Iraq on February 24 confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. A country with a dilapidated healthcare system, Iraq often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the country's first confirmed case.