Health

26 percent of daily COVID-19 tests in Iraq are positive: Health Ministry

While Iraq's public health workers are experienced in dealing with the pandemic and have all the necessary response tools, the recent rise in infections is "serious," Al-Badr said.

Kurdistan 24 2022/07/04 13:39

A health care worker tests a patient for COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region's Sulaimani province. (Photo: Shwan Mohamad/AFP)

Iraq COVID-19 Pandemic Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – More than a quarter of daily COVID-19 tests carried out in Iraq are positive, the Iraqi Ministry of Health announced on Monday.

The percent positive of daily tests conducted in Iraq is now 26, the Iraqi Ministry of Health spokesperson Saif Al-Badr told state media.

The positivity rate – or percent positive – is a measure to assess the severity of a pandemic. The figure enables health workers to determine if more testing is needed.

While Iraq's public health workers are experienced in dealing with the pandemic and have all the necessary response tools, the recent rise in infections is "serious," Al-Badr said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the percent positive should be less than five for at least two weeks before governments consider relaxing anti-pandemic measures.

Iraq records over 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day, a steep increase compared to recent months, according to the official tally released by the health ministry.

Iraq has recorded over 2 million infections since the pandemic began in early 2020.