Iraq reports record number of new Covid-19 cases

Infections rising amid chronic shortage of medical supplies and expertise after years of war

An nurse prepares a Covid-19 vaccine at a clinic in Baghdad. Iraq reported more than 7,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. AP

Iraq reported its highest tally of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with more than 7,000 infections confirmed in the previous 24 hours.

The country's northern Kurdish region halted all travel amid the sharp rise in cases, as infection levels in Iraq continue to climb beyond the levels of the first peak last summer.

Health authorities have rushed to impose a nighttime curfew in cities around the country, in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

Iraq's health ministry confirmed 7,300 new cases and 33 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 887,291 and fatalities to 14,535.

Health officials are carrying out nearly 40,000 tests every day, across the country's population of 40 million people.

Iraq suffers from a chronic shortage of medicines, trained medical staff and facilities.

If they can afford to, some patients prefer to source their own oxygen tanks for treatment at home, instead of going to the country's overcrowded and run-down hospitals.

Case numbers in Iraq peaked last September at almost 5,000 new infections a day, before dropping to around 800 cases a day in December.

Infection rates fell to around 600 cases and fewer than 10 deaths a day in early January.

But by February the country was again recording more than 4,000 new cases every 24 hours.

The authorities say infections have increased because people are not following the health ministry's guidelines.

The ministry called on Iraqis to adhere to the recommendations and practice social distancing, wear masks, frequently wash their hands and stop social events.

The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) said late on Monday that it was suspending all travel between the northern region and other Iraqi governorates in an effort to curb the disease.

It came after the KRG reported more than 1,000 new cases for a second consecutive day – the first time this has happened since the September peak.

Exemptions from the travel ban will be given to employees from the UN, international organisations, coalition forces, diplomats and formal delegations, if they present a valid PCR test, the government said.

Residents of the Kurdistan region, patients who are in need of urgent medical care and businessmen can also get exemptions.

Iraq received its first coronavirus vaccines – 50,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by China – on March 2, but has struggled to keep up with demand.

By the end of last month, the country had also received 336,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, the first consignment to arrive there under the global Covax vaccine-sharing scheme.

_______________

Coronavirus in the Middle East - in pictures

A Palestinian man wearing a face mask walks past a mural of journalists killed in 2014 between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City. AFP

A nurse prepares the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to give to an elderly man, at Al-Nozha Hospital in Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo

An Egyptian medical worker checks people's temperatures on the first day of vaccination against Covid-19 in Egypt, Cairo. AFP

A health worker collects a saliva sample from a man for a PCR coronavirus test at the Shurja market, in Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo

A volunteer adjusts an oxygen cylinder, to be delivered to people who suffer from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and receive home care, in Damascus, Syria. Reuters

Susan Janet Crouch, a 71-year old woman from Britain living in Turkey, receives the first dose of Sinovac's CoronaVac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a healthcare centre as nationwide vaccination continues for seniors, in the Mediterranean town of Side, in Antalya province, Turkey. Reuters

A medical worker administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the first drive-through vaccination centre in the Saudi capital Riyadh. AFP

People arrived to be vaccinated by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health with the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (Covishield) at al-Naseem vaccination centre, in al-Jahra governorate, 40 km north of Kuwait City. AFP

epa09050724 An elderly woman (C) reacts after receiving a shot of COVID-19 vaccine at a health centre in Qatameya, Egypt. EPA