Saudi Arabia says it would take strict economic measures to deal with the impact Lebanon signed a request for aid from the International Monetary Fund DUBAI: Countries across the Middle East face tough economic challenges as businesses across the region, the economy crippled by the coronavirus pandemic that has halted growth. The economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic are great and neither Saudi Arabia nor the world will be the same when it is over, the Kingdom’s Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said on Saturday. Saudi Arabia would take strict and painful measures to deal with the impact, and “all options for dealing with the crisis are open,” the minister said in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV. Meanwhile, the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation announced two programs to support local small and medium industrial enterprises amid the coronavirus outbreak that has affected the Jordanian economy, state-run Jordan News Agency reported. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab and Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni also signed a request for aid from the International Monetary Fund earlier this week. The request for IMF aid comes as thousands of people lose their jobs and key sectors buckle under the double-whammy of a worsening economic situation and the virus pandemic. Sunday (GMT time): 18:41 - The number of people who have died in France after contracting the new coronavirus rose on Sunday by 135 to 24,895, the health ministry said. The number of people treated in hospital for the coronavirus and the number of people in intensive care units continued to decline, it said. 17:28 - Pakistan announced 981 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to over 20,000. 17:17 - Egypt announced 272 new cases of coronavirus and 14 deaths on Sunday. 16:13 - Italy reported 174 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, its lowest toll since 168 fatalities were registered when the country"s stay-at-home orders were imposed on March 10. The Mediterranean country"s toll on the eve of its first easing of lockdown measures on Monday officially stands at 28,884, second only to the United States. 15:42 - Britain"s death toll in the coronavirus outbreak rose to 28,446 on Sunday, after the government reported 315 more fatalities in hospitals, care homes and the wider community. The figure is just below Europe"s worst-hit country, Italy. A total of 186,599 people have tested positive, up 4,339 on Saturday"s figures. But ministers say the country is past the peak. 15:23 - Jordan has lifted all restriction on economic activity in the latest easing of nationwide curfew rules to curb the spread of coronavirus, a government statement said. 15:16 - Algeria announced 179 new cases of coronavirus and four deaths from the disease on Sunday. 12:44 - Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health announced on Sunday eight deaths from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and 1,552 new cases. 11:40 - Vietnam has reported its first new coronavirus case in nine days, taking its tally to 271, health ministry said. 11:27 - Kuwait has reported 364 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 4,983. 11:05 - UAE has registered 564 new coronavirus patients, 99 recoveries and seven deaths. 10:30 - Bahrain has recorded 72 new coronavirus cases and 149 recoveries. 10:25 - Morocco has reported one coronavirus death and 151 new infected people, bringing total number of cases to 4,880 with 174 fatalities. 10:13 - Iran has confirmed 47 new coronavirus deaths and 976 infected people, raising total to 97,424 new cases with 6,203 fatalities. 09:45 - Kuwait Deputy Interior Minister, Lieutenant-General Essam Al-Naham, on Saturday praised the efforts of the National Guard in setting up a field hospital in Mahboula, state news agency KUNA reported. The deputy minister was given a tour of the hospital that was set up to face the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic. The hospital – that was set up in earlier April - receives up to 400 to 500 people a day. 09:09 - Indonesia has reported 349 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 11,192 08:59 - Spain’s daily coronavirus death toll has fell to 164, which is the lowest since March 18. 08:58 - Malaysia has reported 122 new coronavirus cases; 6,298 in total with two new deaths. 08:26 - The Philippines has reported four more coronavirus deaths and 295 new infected cases, 08:07 - The Kuwait health ministry has reported 73 new coronavirus recoveries, raising total to 1,776. The Kuwaiti government has earlier asked ministries and government agencies to get ready to return to work. Final arrangements will be coordinated with health authorities, who will continue to monitor the situation. 08:01 - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said mosques would reopen across large parts of the country Monday after being shuttered since early March over the novel coronavirus outbreak. 07:38 - Russia has recorded 58 new coronavirus deaths, raising total to 1,280. The country has also registered 10,633 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. 07:28 - Oman has confirmed 85 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 2,568. 05:00 - Jordan’s private schools have been given the go ahead to reopen amid strict coronavirus restrictions including reduced working hours and limited staffing levels. Jordan’s Ministry of Education ordered that the number of administrative staff and teachers permitted to work will be determined according to the number of students in the school. 04:43 - Australia"s state of Victoria saw its highest increase in new coronavirus cases in weeks on Sunday and New South Wales state struggled with a cluster of infections at a care facility for the elderly, as parts of the country began easing distancing rules. Thirteen new cases were recorded in Victoria, health officials said, with six of the cases related to an infections cluster at a meat processing facility in Melbourne. 04:26 - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 793 to 162,496, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.