Iraq, hard hit by COVID-19, sets new daily case record
Iraq broke its record for most coronavirus cases in a day Wednesday and the country is far from having enough vaccine doses for its population of around 40 million.
Iraq is experiencing historic highs in daily COVID-19 cases. The country has acquired nearly 400,000 vaccines doses so far, nowhere close to what is needed to inoculate most of its population of around 40 million.
There were 7,937 new coronavirus infections reported throughout Iraq on Friday, the Ministry of Health said in a news release. The record is Wednesday’s toll of 8,331 cases. Daily cases have been rising since February and are now much higher than the previous highs of around 5,000 a day in September, according to Worldometer. The country has reported 14,641 coronavirus deaths.
The Iraqi government is encouraging people to take the vaccine for the coronavirus and has criticized its citizenry for not adhering to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines. Agence France-Presse reported that Baghdad now has a 24-hour curfew on the two weekend days of Friday and Saturday and an 8 p.m. curfew on other days, and that concrete barriers have been placed across the city to impede movement.
AFP also reported that the Health Ministry said Friday that shops, restaurants and other businesses where employees have not been vaccinated are to be closed.
