Israel to shut down synagogues in latest step to fight virus

The announcement by Libya's UN-backed government now leaves just war-torn Yemen as the last country in the Mideast not to have a reported case of the new virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes. Already, health officials have warned of the danger of the virus' spread in the Arab world's poorest country, where the health care system has collapsed amid yearslong war.

The order to close the synagogues, which goes into effect later Wednesday, reportedly came over the objection of Israel's health minister, himself an ultra-Orthodox Jew. In Libya, officials say a 73-year-old man who crossed into the country from neighbouring Tunisia on March 5 became the large North African country's first recorded case. The Libyan patient had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia, according to the National Center for Disease Control, and was receiving medical treatment for his fever and cough in isolation at a Tripoli hospital.

Meanwhile in Egypt, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly told reporters that the 11-hour nationwide curfew from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. would go into effect Wednesday, during which public transportation would also come to a halt. Egypt has confirmed 402 cases and 22 fatalities, including two senior military officers.

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