Iraqi coronavirus cases top 200,000, say health ministry

Iraqi coronavirus cases top 200,000, say health ministry

Author: AFPID: 1598103359692470000Sat, 2020-08-22 12:32

BAGHDAD: Iraq on Saturday registered nearly 4,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases recorded by the country to over 200,000.

According to the Iraqi health ministry, 201,050 Iraqis have contracted the virus, including 6,353 who have died, while 143,393 are declared to have recovered since the pandemic began.

The daily increases have hovered around 4,000 for more than a week, but authorities have declined to reimpose a strict lockdown that was lifted earlier this summer.

An overnight curfew remains in place, most restaurants are closed for dine-in customers and land crossings are officially shut.

But airports, supermarkets and take-out cafes are open, with varying degrees of social distancing or mask-wearing.

Many fear yet another spike in cases is imminent, as Shiite Muslims converge on the holy city of