Iraq reports highest 6,664 daily COVID-19 cases, 850,924 in total

BAGHDAD, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday 6,664 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the pandemic, raising the total nationwide infections to 850,924.

The new cases included 2,508 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 989 in Basra, 449 in Duhok, 314 in Sulaimaniyah, and 280 in Wasit, while the other cases were detected in other provinces, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement also said that 37 new deaths were recorded during the day, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,323, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,210 to 759,560.

A total of 8,057,888 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 44,649 done during the day, according to the statement.

It said that 17,180 people were vaccinated during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 56,985 since the vaccines arrived early this month.

A separate statement by the ministry said that Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi chaired a meeting at the ministry with senior health officials and discussed the latest developments in the health situation, including the continuous increase in coronavirus infections in the country.

Al-Tamimi discussed means to enhance the health services to curb the spread of the virus and also discussed the ministry's efforts to communicate with international vaccine producing companies to increase the delivery of vaccine batches already agreed upon to cover Iraq's need, according to the statement.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to curb the recent rise in infections after the health ministry announced on Feb. 15 the detection of a new strain characterized by faster transmission and a higher level of severity.

On March 2, Iraq received a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help combat the pandemic.

The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccines, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Sputnik V vaccines.