Major Mideast states announce further ease of anti-coronavirus precautions

In Israel, only 17 new coronavirus cases were reported on Monday, bringing the total number in the country to 16,734.

After four consecutive days without a death case, the Israeli health ministry reported two new fatalities, bringing the death toll in the Jewish country from the COVID-19 to 281.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli transport ministry announced the full resumption of the state's rail system on June 8.

It is worth noting that Israel's GDP contracted by annualized 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2020, the sharpest drop in the last 20 years and mainly due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released by the state's Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

Palestine on Monday declared the end of lockdown and a set of new measures in dealing with the COVID-19, lifting the ban on movement between cities immediately, and allowing public transport to operate in terms of safety procedures.

Shops, commercial and industrial establishments, including cafes, restaurants, and health clubs as well as mosques and churches, will be allowed to reopen starting Tuesday morning, while official bodies will return to work regularly starting Wednesday morning after the end of Eid al-Fitr holiday, according to Palestine Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye.

The number of COVID-19 cases registered in Palestine has reached 602, including 475 recoveries and five deaths, with no new infections reported on Monday.

Qatar's health ministry on Monday announced 1,751 new infections of the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 45,465.

As the first among the Gulf countries to report COVID-19 cases, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday announced 822 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 30,307.

The UAE's health ministry also confirmed three more deaths, bringing the death toll to 248.

In Kuwait, 665 new cases of COVID-19 and nine more deaths were reported on Monday, raising the tally of infections to 21,967 and the death toll to 165, the health ministry said in a statement.

The Kuwaiti government has been imposing a full curfew in the Gulf country to curb the rapid increase of coronavirus cases.