DUBAI: Countries in the Middle East have ramped up testing procedures in the fight against COVID-19, as the global death toll topped 150,000 on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health on Friday evening said it carried out mass testing in high-density areas in the Kingdom, and found 400 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 7,142. April 18, 2020 (All times in GMT) 18:39 - Spain announces an extension of the coronavirus lockdown until May 9. 17:27 - Jordan records 6 new coronavirus cases bringing the total to 413 cases. 17:26 - Egypt records 188 new coronavirus cases and 19 deaths. 17:25 - France records 642 new coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total to above 19,000. 17:15 - Russia records 4,785 coronavirus cases within one day. 17:10 - Total coronavirus deaths in Israel rise to 164 and total cases to 13,265. 17:02 - Turkey records 120 deaths and 3,783 cases of coronavirus infections. 16:36 - Algeria announced 116 new cases of coronavirus and 3 deaths on Saturday. 16:35 - Iraq announced 31 new cases of coronavirus and one death on Saturday. 16:24 - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday that 540 people died across his state over the last 24 hours due to the novel coronavirus, marking the lowest daily tally in more than two weeks. Speaking at a daily briefing, Cuomo also said new hospital admissions stayed around the 2,000-patient mark, which he said was "still an overwhelming number." 16:10 - Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 482 on Saturday, the lowest daily increase since April 12, while the number of new cases was stable at 3,491, the Civil Protection Agency said. 15:45 - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday the U.S. and Canada have agreed to keep their border closed to nonessential travel for another 30 days. Trudeau said it will keep people on both sides of the border safe amid the pandemic. 14:33 - Algeria extends quarantine measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus for an additional 10 days. 13:29 - The number of people in Britain who have died in hospital from coronavirus has risen by 888 to 15,464, according to daily health ministry figures on Saturday. "As of 5pm on 17 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 15,464 have sadly died," the ministry said on its website, up from 14,576 on Friday. 11:23 – Qatar has confirmed 345 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 5,008. The country has also reported one death and 46 recoveries. 09:43 – Iran’s total number of coronavirus cases has reached 80,868, while the death toll stood at 5,031. 09:21 – Kuwait has recorded 93 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 1,751. 09:16 – Lebanon has reported four new coronavirus caes, raising total to 672. 09:15 – Morocco has confirmed 106 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 2,670. 08:38 – All outdoor activities within Kuwait’s residential areas are prohibited especially between 5 p.m. to 6 a.m., as part of the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus spread, state news agency KUNA reported citing the interior ministry. 08:26 – Palestine has reported one coronavirus death and six new cases. 08:24 – A German cruise ship infected with coronavirus has left Australia for Europe after recording three deaths. 07:53 – Oman has confirmed 111 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 1,180. 07:48 – Kuwait"s health ministry has reported 22 new coronavirus recoveries, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 280. 06:57 – Israel has recorded seven new coronavirus deaths and 125 new cases, bringing the total to 13,107 infected people. 06:13 – The World Health Organization thanked Saudi Arabia"s King Salman for donating $500 million to support the international efforts in preventing the coronavirus spread, state news agency SPA reported. 00:05 – Mexico has reported 6,875 new cases of coronavirus and the death of 546 people. April 17, 2020 (All times in GMT) 23:58 – The Nigerian government announces that the president’s chief of staff has died of coronavirus. 18:50 – The UAE reported 477 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus in the country to 6,302. The new numbers came after 24,000 additional COVID-19 tests have been carried out. Two new deaths have also been confirmed by the health ministry, as well as 93 new recoveries.