COVID-19: Iraq warns of winter surge in infections

Iraqi health officials warned on Tuesday that a new spike in coronavirus infections was likely in the coming weeks as it confirmed 2,961 new cases and 40 deaths over the previous 24 hours.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi health officials warned on Tuesday that a new spike in coronavirus infections was likely in the coming weeks as it confirmed  2,961 new cases and 40 deaths over the previous 24 hours.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Health and Environment, the federal government completed 18,614 tests in the past day, making for a total of over three million carried out since the first case was confirmed in the country in February.

Earlier in the day, the ministry said it expected a significant increase in the rate of infections as the winter months bring colder weather.

"The pandemic continues to spread in our country and neighboring countries with an increase in daily infections, deaths, and critical cases. This is due to the negligence of preventive measures, despite medical research’s prediction of a significant increase in infections during the coming weeks as a result of lower temperatures," read a statement.

Authorities charged that much of the public was "resuming social gatherings as though the pandemic no longer exists and the danger is over," and instructed the supervisory health teams to "intensify their inspection visits at restaurants, cafes, malls and all facilities that witness human gatherings and assess the extent of their commitment to implementing preventive measures and to take action against any facility that violates them.”

According to the health ministry’s latest figures, the total number of cases in Iraq has reached 524,503 so far, 11,752 of them fatal.

Today's infection and fatality figures reported by the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad do not include the most recent developments in the autonomous Kurdistan Region, which has its own health ministry and typically announces results later in the day. As such, Kurdistan's figures are usually added to the following day's national tally.

Read More: COVID-19: Kurdistan Region daily infections drop to 645 cases

The coronavirus has infected more than 55 million people worldwide and killed over 1.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University’s database. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting. 

Editing by John J. Catherine