BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi authorities on Tuesday decided to impose a 10-day full curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus, while the Ministry of Health reported 6,143 new COVID-19 cases.

A statement by his media office said that Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi chaired a cabinet meeting earlier in the day to discuss the recommendations of the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety about the development of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The meeting resulted in the approval of imposing a nationwide full curfew starting from May 12 to 22, the statement said.

The meeting also decided closing malls, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and other public facilities, in addition to preventing all forms of social gatherings to control the spread of the virus, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 6,143 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide number to 1,086,141.

A statement by the ministry also reported 42 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 15,608, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 7,242 to 971,793.

A total of 9,484,523 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 38,609 done during the day.

It also said that 20,129 people were vaccinated against the COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 393,104.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to curb the recent rise in infections. The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm vaccines, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sputnik V vaccines.

Since the early stage of the pandemic in 2020, the Chinese government has sent medical aid to Iraq and donated two shipments of Sinopharm vaccines to the country to help combat the pandemic. Enditem

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