COVID-19: Iraq eases restrictions as it confirms 4,894 new cases, 68 deaths

Iraq announced that coronavirus restrictions were being eased just as health officials confirmed 4,894 new infections and 68 deaths related to the disease within the last 24 hours.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq announced that coronavirus restrictions were being eased just as health officials confirmed 4,894 new infections and 68 deaths related to the disease within the last 24 hours.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Environment reported that the number of infections confirmed since the spread of the pandemic to Iraq in February has reached 269,578 to date, 7,657 of which were fatal.

Today's figures 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 reports over 670 new cases, 15 deaths in past 24 hours

On Monday, the High Health and Safety Committee issued a set of new decisions that eased restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A statement read that the committee would be “Re-launching youth, sports activities and sports events (without an audience), while adhering to preventive health measures starting from September 12, re-opening of restaurants as well as the opening of the halls and tourist facilities of five-star hotels, and re-opening of border-crossings for commercial movement, seven days a week, to secure the needs of the local markets in accordance with the preventive health measures.” 

The body also decided to increase the official working hours in all governmental institutions up to 50 percent and give the ministers, directors, and governors the authority to estimate the actual need, also to allow the High Elections Commission to open registration centers to target voters for biometric registration and distributing biometric voter cards.

The health ministry also clarified that, starting Wednesday, official working hours for all its employees would return to 100 percent without any reduction in working hours.

Editing by John J. Catherine