COVID-19: Iraq announces just under 4,000 new infections, 87 deaths

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The day after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Iraq's ability to contain the coronavirus was deteriorating amid steadily high daily infection numbers, health officials in Baghdad announced 3,995 new cases and 87 deaths over the previous 24 hours.

The Ministry of Health and Environment reported a public statement that the results came from over 23,000 coronavirus tests conducted over that period, making a total of 1,368,727 tests given since the pandemic was first confirmed to have entered Iraq's borders in February.

To date, 192,797 people in Iraq have contracted the disease in Iraq, with 6,208 having died and 49,389 of whom are still being actively treated in clinics and hospitals.

WHO warned of a "major" health crisis in Iraq in light of the increasing number of coronavirus cases, though it added that Iraqis can still defeat the epidemic through a serious commitment to following preventive measures such as wearing face masks, social distancing, and avoiding mass gatherings altogether.

Read More: COVID-19: Iraq confirms over 4,000 new cases; WHO warns of 'major' crisis

A statement read, "The situation in the past months has deteriorated due to many factors, including the easing of restrictions imposed by the Iraqi authorities and the failure to adhere to the preventive measures or implement them by force."

Furthermore, A new study published in the journal Fluid of Physics revealed that, after respiratory droplets potentially infected with coronavirus are expelled such as when a person coughs, those droplets can live up to 23 times longer than they otherwise would when the air is extremely humid. According to the findings, humidity can extend the airborne lifetime of a 50-micron considerably. Unlike in humid air, the study found that a droplet of 50-microns could evaporate within 1.7 seconds in dry air.

The study also indicates that social distancing and increased space can help stop the spread of the virus as distancing reduces the likelihood of inhaling aerosols from an infected person.

Today's figures for infections and deaths in Iraq 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 uptick in fatalities, over 480 cases

In Monday’s meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers, the body expressed its concern regarding the high numbers in a statement which warned, “The Kurdistan Region is in a dangerous situation.”

The highly-contagious disease has infected over 22.5 million people worldwide and killed nearly 790,000 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