BAGHDAD, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Sunday 3,187 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 667,937.

It also reported in a statement 27 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,272, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,002 to 618,509.

A total of 6,553,904 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 41,161 done during the day.

Iraqi Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi said at a press conference that there is a significant increase in infections with the new strain of coronavirus and that critical cases increased from 123 to 316 during the past few days.

Al-Tamimi called on government employees and workers in private sectors to abide by the instructions of the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety and the health-protective measures to curb the spread of the virus.

On Feb. 13, the Iraqi health authorities decided to impose a partial curfew for four days and a full curfew for three days every week during the period from Feb. 18 to March 8.

During the period, the partial curfew will start from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. While the full curfew will be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm and Britain's AstraZeneca vaccines to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

From March 7 to April 26 in 2020, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help fight the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad.

China has also sent batches of medical aid to Iraq. Enditem

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