Politics

COVID-19: Iraq announces 50 deaths, over 4,400 new cases

The Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment on Thursday announced over 4,400 new cases of the coronavirus along with 50 fatalities over the previous 24 hours

Halgurd Sherwani 2020/10/01 17:37

middle east Iraq COVID19 Pandemic

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment on Thursday announced over 4,400 new cases of the coronavirus along with 50 fatalities over the previous 24 hours.

According to official figures, the total number of patients in Iraq that have contracted the highly infectious disease since the first infection was confirmed in February has surpassed 367,000 this week. To date, more than 9,200 of them have died.

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.

Health officials warned the general public that the only alternative to another strict lockdown—since new daily cases routinely number in the mid thousands—is their commitment to basic preventive measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks.

Last week, Baghdad said it was joining an alliance of 156 countries aimed at achieving a rapid and equitable distribution of any future coronavirus vaccines that are developed and to protect vulnerable healthcare systems and frontline health workers.

The effort, known as "COVAX," is being led by co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the GAVI vaccine alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO), which characterized the program as "a global initiative that brings together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need, whoever they are and wherever they live."

The coronavirus has infected more than 34 million people worldwide and killed over one 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