Politics

COVID-19: Iraq reports over one thousand new infections, along with 39 deaths in 24 hours

As of Friday, there have been a total of 17,770 coronavirus cases in Iraq, including 6, 868 recoveries and 496 deaths.

2020-06-12 20:05

middle east Baghdad Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq continued its nearly-three week run of soaring coronavirus infections on Friday, as it announced 1,090 new cases and 39 deaths, due to complications from the highly contagious COVID-19.

The Iraqi Health Ministry and Environment issued its daily COVID-19 update, which stated that health workers had tested more than 97,000 samples from different individuals. The total number of tests since the disease emerged in Iraq is now over 349,000.

As of Friday, there have been a total of 17,770 coronavirus cases in Iraq, including 6, 868 recoveries and 496 deaths, the statement explained.

The ministry also said there were 111 patients in intensive care and that 10, 040 cases remain active.

Of those who tested positive, 348 cases were in Baghdad province, the ministry reported. The capital province and others close to the border with Iran have had an exceptionally high number of infections, as a resurgence of cases, which began toward the end of May, continues.

In March, Iran became the epicenter of the coronavirus in the Middle East, because it has close links to China, where the virus appeared in late 2019. Even as it became evident that a dangerous new disease was emerging, and other countries cut off travel to and from China, Iran delayed doing so.

Moreover, as the coronavirus began emerging in Iran itself, authorities were slow to confront it, and their lockdown measures were relatively lax.

Iran’s reopening, amid a struggling economy, has led to a strong, second wave of infections, which is now spreading to Iran’s neighbors.

Authorities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region relaxed curfew measures in late April, and the tally of new cases began to multiply some two weeks later (the incubation period for the disease), after both the federal and regional governments resumed trade with Iran in mid-May.

Speaking with Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iraq, Dr. Adham Ismail, stated that the quick resumption of trade with neighboring Iran, as well as the public’s failure to follow anti-coronavirus health regulations, have contributed to the recent spike in infections across the country.

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) committee for combatting coronavirus on Wednesday tasked the autonomous region’s relevant departments “to seek assistance for the fight against the virus” from diplomatic missions, the WHO, and the federal Iraqi government.

On Friday, Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barzinjy headed to Baghdad as head of a ministerial delegation to explore possible policies to counter the increase in cases of the disease. Barzinjy met with his federal counterpart in Baghdad, Hassan al-Tamimi, and discussed the latest measures to curb the virus.

The KRG delegation called for increased coordination between federal and regional authorities to fight the disease, a source familiar with the meeting told Kurdistan 24 on Thursday.

The Kurdistan Region has seen its own upsurge in cases recently, with new infections mostly concentrated in Sulaimani province. According to the latest KRG data, the total number of cases is 1,892, with 1,297 still active.

So far, 36 individuals have died from the disease in the autonomous region. KRG health officials have warned that fatalities could see a future spike, as the number of patients increases amid a limited supply of medical equipment.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie

Halgurd Sherwani ,