Iraq breaks daily COVID-19 record with more than 12,000 new cases

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi health authorities reported over 12,000 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, a significant jump from previous days and a new all-time record.

In a statement outlining the data gathered in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said that 12,180 new infections were recorded across Iraq.

Those were positive results from 50,880 tests for the virus, meaning the positivity rate was just under 24 percent, a markedly high percentage that could indicate the number of infections is even higher.

Daily recorded cases, though still high, around 4,000, saw a new uptick in late June, as Iraqi medical experts detected the even more contagious Delta variant of the virus. According to the health ministry, the coronavirus has now infected over 1.56 million people in Iraq.

The ministry also reported that medical professionals had administered just over 1.39 million vaccines so far, with around 86,000 shots delivered on Sunday. Further data on the country's inoculation campaign, from the types of vaccines used and whether people are partly or fully vaccinated, were not available.

There were also reportedly 60 deaths due to the disease, raising the total to 18,347. Of the total number of people infected, about 1.42 million have recovered, per the ministry.

It is important to note that a patient classified as a "recovery" means they are no longer actively treated by health professionals and have tested negative for the virus, not that they have fully recovered.

Medical experts now recognize that some COVID-19 symptoms, such as chronic fatigue, often continue long after an individual's formal recovery. In addition, various other symptoms, including significant lung damage, could be permanent.