Iraq will not require COVID-19 test for travelers starting from April

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An official from the Iraqi Civil Aviation announced on Monday that, starting on April 1st, the country will remove the requirement for travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test on arrival.

Iraq is currently requiring a negative PCR test for travelers to fly in and out of the country.

Beginning on April 1, the country will no longer demand negative test results in order to enter, Jihan Al-Diwan, the spokesperson for the aviation authority, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).

For those who want to travel from Baghdad International Airport to other countries, they still need to meet their destination country’s requirements, the official said.

The authority added that proof of at least two vaccine doses is enough for those coming to or leaving Iraq through the airports.

The decision was made in line with the country’s Supreme Committee for National Health and Safety, according to his statement.

Recording more than two million cases of coronavirus infections since early 2020, Iraq is one of the countries with the lowest vaccination rates in the Middle East, as less than 10 million out of the 40-million population had been inoculated for the virus, health authorities told AFP in February.

The estimation of infection rate stems from public laboratories only. Private clinics do not report their figures to public health officials.

Barely seven million people have been double jabbed, while those with a booster shot are less than 100,000, French media reported.