Iraq’s FM ‘in good condition’ following COVID-19 infection: Spokesperson

Hussein will resume his works “in the near future,” the spokesperson said.

Kurdistan 24 2022/01/31 12:47

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein during a press conference in Brussels, Jan. 20, 2022. (Photo: Johanna Geron/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein’s health is in good condition after he tested positive for COVID-19, the ministry’s spokesperson confirmed to state media on Sunday.

Ahmed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesperson, confirmed to the state media Iraqi News Agency that the chief diplomat has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently “recovering”.

Hussein will resume his works “in the near future,” the spokesperson said.

The foreign minister had been unable to attend a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Kuwait on Sunday due to his infection, al-Sahaf added.

The official did not elaborate on whether the 73-year-old minister had been vaccinated.

Iraq, including its Kurdistan Region, is currently witnessing what health officials describe as a new “wave” of the coronavirus after the country had identified cases of that virus’s new omicron variant among the population.

So far, over nine million Iraqis have been vaccinated since the country’s campaign began in early 2021.

More than 2.2 million infections have been recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Over 24,000 people have succumbed to death.