The Middle East at war with coronavirus: Top stories from 13 May

Here are five stories you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic and how it is affecting the Middle East on 13 May: 

1. Coronavirus pandemic 'strengthens IS,' says Norway

Islamic State group militants hide in sparsely populated farmlands in Iraq from where they stage attacks on Iraqi forces focusing their efforts on curbing the spread of the coronavirus in the country, the head of the Norwegian contingent in the Middle Eastern nation said on Wednesday.

The militants “reside in agricultural areas and are thus not particularly susceptible to the virus infection,” Lt Col Stein Grongstad told Norway’s VG newspaper. In recent weeks, they have been targeting Iraqi forces “that are not currently coordinated to the same extent as before the virus struck.”

Grongstad described the situation as a “paradox,” that at a time when the world is grappling with the pandemic, IS attacks are on the rise.

“The Islamic State group has been moving the fighting from Syria to Iraq ... (and) is strengthening, both financially and militarily,” he said.

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2. First Egyptian lawmaker to get Covid-19 quarantined

Egyptian lawmaker Suleiman Wahdan has been infected with Covid-19, becoming the first member of Egypt’s parliament to catch the novel coronavirus.

Twelve other MPs who recently had contact with her have been quarantined.

Suleiman Wahdan, the deputy speaker of Egypt’s House of Representatives, as parliament is officially called, announced on Wednesday that MP Sherine Farrag “had been infected with coronavirus and was now in quarantine and treatment” at the Qasr al-Aini Hospital in central Cairo.

So far there have been 10,093 cases of the coronavirus and 544 deaths. While this death toll is low compared to the US and European countries, it is the highest in the Arab world.

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3. No ice cream for Jordanians as vendor becomes infected

Jordan has closed 39 stores in the northern city of Jerash after an ice cream seller tested positive for coronavirus, The New Arab's Arabic-language service reported.

The epidemiological investigation committee in the Jerash Governorate Health Directorate closed all the stores which the seller visited as the kingdom scrambles to contain the outbreak.

Jerash's Director of Health Ahmed Al-Qadri said on Tuesday that six field survey teams had tested hundreds of people who had contact with the ice-cream vendor.

The country has recorded 579 coronavirus cases and nine deaths as of Wednesday.

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4. Algeria launches coronavirus test kits production

Algeria is manufacturing rapid test kits for the novel coronavirus, as the country extends lockdown measures until the end of the month.

The North African country is producing testing kits with a detection time of 15 minutes and a production capacity of 200,000 units per week, the government has revealed.

A laboratory in the capital Algiers is developing the test kits in partnership with Canadian and Jordanian firms, junior minister in charge of pharmaceutical production Lotfi Benbahmed said on state television, without naming the two foreign partners.

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5. Yemen is 'undercounting' coronavirus cases

Coronavirus is spreading fast in Yemen, and reports are that there are far more cases and deaths than authorities are reporting.

The Saudi-backed government in the south and the Iran-aligned Houthis in the north have publicly announced a total of 67 cases and 11 deaths, with two of those infections and one of the deaths reported by the latter, both in the capital Sanaa.

Read More: How coronavirus has transformed education in the Middle East

There is rampant undercounting in both the north and the south of the country, which could make it difficult to track the spread of the disease, four sources close to the matter told the Reuters news agency.

The UN warned on Monday that a shocking 16 million people are at risk of contracting the deadly virus, dealing a blow to what it has already described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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Agencies contributed to this report.