COVID-19: Iraq records over 3,700 new infections in 24 hours

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment on Friday announced that it had recorded over 3,700 new coronavirus infections and 48 deaths from the disease over the past 24 hours.

A ministry statement said that it had conducted 18,387 tests in the last 24 hours, making for a total of 2,724,328 tests since the beginning of the outbreak in Iraq.

According to the latest health figures, the total number of infections in Iraq has reached 445,949, including 375,188 recoveries and 10,513 fatalities.

‘Review health measures’

On Wednesday, the federal Integrity Commission called on the management of Baghdad International Airport to review the health measures that it is taking at the facility to curb the spread of the disease.

The body warned "some of these measures" may be contributing to the spread of the virus, instead of reducing it.

The commission said in a statement that it had recorded a case, which, it suggested, airport officials had mishandled.

The authorities at the facility allowed a person who did not possess a health document showing that he was clear of the virus to interact with its staff. Such a document is mandated for all would-be travelers.

The number of infections is increasing on a daily basis in both Iraq as a whole and in the Kurdistan Region, as well. As of Friday, the autonomous region has recorded 67,184 cases since the start of the pandemic.

Read More: COVID-19: Kurdistan Region reports over 1,000 new cases for fifth day in a row

The commission also noted a fundamental shortcoming in health procedures at the airport.

“The competent authorities at the airport approve any health certificate for a PCR examination presented by incoming passengers, while other countries do not accept most of the tests conducted in Iraq,” it said.

The body also recommended that the federal government take steps to create health examination centers at all airports and border crossings in order to detect the coronavirus and more effectively fight its spread.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie