DUBAI: Middle Eastern states continue to adopt new regulations restricting movement in and out of their countries as the COVID-19 pandemic endures. The United Arab Emirates on Thursday announced that residents who are outside the country would be temporarily Stopped from returning to the country and banned nationals from traveling abroad. Hospitals in Oman put non-urgent and routine cases on hold to free up capacity for coronavirus patients. Meanwhile, Beijing was hit by a record number of imported cases of the coronavirus as new local transmissions in China fell to zero. It was the first time since the virus took hold late last year in Hubei province - including the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak - that China has recorded no locally transmitted cases. Thursday, March 19 (All times in GMT) 03:36 – Two US lawmakers including a Florida representative on Wednesday became the first members of Congress to announce they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart’s office said in a statement that “just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19.” The Republican who represents part of Miami follows that city"s Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week. 03:11 – Sub-Saharan Africa has recorded its first COVID-19 death, which was a high-ranking politician in Burkina Faso. Wednesday, March 18 (All times in GMT) 23:03 – Algeria’s Health Ministry recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus and one death, bringing the total number of infections to 72 and deaths to 6. The ministry has reported a total of 36 recoveries so far. 20:41 – Oman’s Health Ministry reported 6 new coronavirus cases in the country, bringing the total number to 39.