Iraq records nearly 9,000 COVID-19 cases amid uptick in fatalities

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi health authorities on Friday recorded nearly nine thousand COVID-19 cases amid an uptick in reported deaths due to the highly contagious disease.

The health ministry said in a statement that it had recorded 8,905 infections along with 66 fatalities. Authorities have warned that hospitals are on the brink of losing control as the virus, including the much more infectious Delta variant of it, spreads uncontrollably.

Read More: COVID-19: Amid spike in cases, Iraq warns 'hospitals are almost losing control'

The rate of deaths due to the virus has seen an increase since early this week. Thursday marked a record number of reported fatalities since late September of 2020.

122 is the highest single-day number of deaths Iraqi health authorities have reported since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was on June 26, 2020, when recorded cases only reached as high as 4,000.

Since early July 2021, the number of daily infections has hovered around 8,000 or higher, reaching an all-time record of 9,883 on Monday.

According to the health ministry, there has been a total of over 1.5 million COVID-19 cases, including more than 18,000 deaths and about 1.4 recoveries.

Health officials have repeatedly urged citizens to get vaccinated and follow public health guidelines aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.