Iraq records 260 new COVID-19 cases, ten deaths in 24 hours: health ministry

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Sunday, the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment said it had recorded 260 new coronavirus cases and ten deaths due to the virus over the past 24 hours across the country, including the Kurdistan Region.

A ministry statement said that 5,381 individuals were tested for the disease across Iraqi provinces outside the Kurdistan Region, bringing the total number of tests since the infection first came into the country in late February to 227,756.

The statement added that the total number of cases in the country as a whole had reached 6,439, including 3,156 recoveries and 205 deaths. There are now 3,078 active cases, with 46 patients in intensive care units, the ministry noted.

On Saturday, Iraqi authorities tasked with combatting the disease, the High Committee for National Health and Safety and the Parliamentary Crisis Cell, issued new measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including the extension of a curfew for another week.

An official statement said the federal government was imposing "an immediate curfew in Baghdad and all provinces except for Kurdistan Region for a week until June 6, 2020."

"The relevant authorities must strictly implement the decision and hold violators of the lockdown accountable in accordance with the law," it added.

The health committee also reached a decision that enables security authorities to "tighten their procedures within the popular areas and prevent all forms of gatherings, force citizens to wear masks outside the home and not allow them to move around without it."

Traffic police are also to detain any vehicle that carries "more than 50 percent of its capacity," and its passengers are not wearing protective masks." Restaurants can only deliver food, the committees ruled. Work in government institutions, excluding health and security authorities, will be suspended.

The government also agreed to halt flights arranged by Iraq to evacuate its citizens stuck abroad for the coming week. These trips are reportedly going to be delayed by a week until proper quarantine facilities are set up to receive returnees.

In recent weeks, the number of active cases across the country has increased dramatically following the easing of lockdown restrictions in late April amid a strained national economy.

Editing by Khrush Najari