Politics

COVID-19: Iraq exceeds 300,000 total cases, warns of second wave

Iraqi announced on Wednesday that it had confirmed 4,357 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours, pushing the total national tally since the country's first known infection in February over the 300,000 mark.

Mustafa Shilani 2020/09/16 14:09

middle east Iraq COVID-19 Coronavirus Health Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi announced on Wednesday that it had confirmed 4,357 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours, pushing the total national tally since the country's first known infection in February over the 300,000 mark.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Health and Environment, health workers completed 24,558 coronavirus tests in the past day, adding up to 1,973,089 tests carried out to date. The total number of patients in Iraq who have so far contracted the highly-contagious disease has reached 303,059, with 8,248 of them having died.

Earlier that day, a Baghdad health official said it was expecting a sizable surge in cases in the coming months, in part due to the normal autumn flu season.

"The epidemiological situation is still unstable and the danger lies within the next two months," said Abdul Ghani Saadi, head of Rusafa Health Directorate, stressing "the importance of preparing more and more thoroughly, given the expectations related to a new pandemic wave because of weather fluctuations that are likely to lead to an increase in infection rates."

He attributed the present spike in numbers to "the increase of the number of tests and citizens' disregard for preventive measures."

Saadi also spoke of the necessity to “train new health staff for the second wave, as well as continuing awareness campaigns and emphasizing the need to abide by precautionary restrictions.”

Today's 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.

The coronavirus has infected nearly 30 million people worldwide and killed over 937,000 according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by John J. Catherine