Iraq has entered a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s health ministry has revealed, as the war-ravaged country fights to contain other disease outbreaks.
“It has been noticed that there is a substantial increase in the positive cases over the past few days as well as hospital admissions,” the ministry said on Monday.
“That means Iraq has entered a new pandemic wave.”
In recent months, there has been a sense of normality as coronavirus infections dropped significantly to about 100 a day. The government lifted Covid-19 restrictions, with fewer people wearing masks or observing guidelines.
But, in recent weeks, confirmed cases have increased.
On Monday, Iraq announced 515 cases and one death, taking the number of confirmed infections to 2,332,692 million and deaths to 25,229.
The ministry blamed the vaccine hesitation and absence of preventive measures for the surge.
Even though Iraq has a mandatory vaccination programme, the coverage is still low, with about 10.8 million of the 40 million population vaccinated.
Dual fight against disease and climate change
Decades of war, UN-imposed sanctions and instability have left the country’s health sector in tatters.
Medics have been struggling to meet the public’s healthcare demands and contain previous coronavirus waves.
The latest infections come amid a fight to contain other disease outbreaks, as well as an acute climate change impact.
On Sunday, the health ministry announced at least 13 confirmed cases of cholera across the country and thousands of hospital admissions for acute diarrhoea were reported, with those numbers expected to rise.
Since the beginning of this year, Iraq has also registered a surge in the number of cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.
As of last week, there have been more than 170 cases, of which 32 have been fatal, compared with an annual average of about 20 and one or two deaths.
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
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The five pillars of Islam
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- Price: Not announced yet
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')
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Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
Griselda
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Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
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The Vile
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The biog
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Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
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Six large-scale objects on show
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- Torrijos Palace dome
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Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
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