Kuwait's total coronavirus cases rise to 61

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait

Kuwait confirmed three new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases of to 61, according to its Health Ministry.

"Three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded, all of which were in mandatory quarantine and had travelled to Iran," said ministry spokesman Abdullah al-Sanad.

Earlier on Saturday, Kuwait decided to suspend flights to seven countries for a week as part of precautionary measures to face the repercussions of the novel coronavirus.

Kuwait's civil aviation suspended flights to Egypt, the Philippines, Syria, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India.

So far, Kuwait has evacuated around 800 citizens from Iran -- which has been hit hard by the virus with flu-like symptoms.

The coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has now spread to more than 93 countries.

The global death toll is nearing 3,500, with more than 100,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

After declaring the outbreak an international health emergency, the WHO recently updated the global risk level to "very high."

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara