Iraq reports 6,791 new COVID-19 cases, 924,946 in total
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E-mail Xinhua, April 12, 2021
BAGHDAD, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Sunday 6,791 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 924,946.
The new cases included 2,447 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 985 in Basra, 494 in Sulaimaniyah, 439 in Wasit, and 333 in Duhok, while the other cases were detected in other provinces, the ministry said in a statement.
It also reported 35 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,713, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,190 to 814,853.
A total of 8,508,732 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 38,833 done during the day.
It said that 8,321 people were vaccinated during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 141,059.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Iraq confirmed in a statement the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and urges Iraqis to register and vaccinate to help defeat the pandemic.
"We confirm that COVID-19 vaccines are important in the fight against the pandemic, and the benefits of these vaccines outweigh any rare side effects."
It also said that WHO called on citizens to continue registering for the vaccine and get vaccinated as soon as possible, saying that "we will stop this pandemic only when the majority of people in Iraq have taken the vaccine."
WHO also said that the recent surge in coronavirus infections raises concerns, but controlling the pandemic is possible through the strict adherence to health-protective measures and success of the vaccination campaign led by the Ministry of Health with the cooperation of the WHO, it added.
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-BioNTech, and Sputnik V vaccines. Enditem
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