SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi government on Thursday eased coronavirus restrictions and lifted a full curfew to facilitate the vaccination campaign.
The Supreme Committee for Health and National Safety said in a statement that it had decided to impose a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time instead of the 10-day lockdown imposed earlier in the week.
It also decided to continue closing malls, restaurants, cafes, and other public facilities until Monday when they will be allowed to operate from 5 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.
The committee further said the full curfew measures led to a decreasing number of people heading vaccination centers, according to the statement.
On May 4, the prime minister’s office said the supreme committee approved a full lockdown from May 12 to May 22.
Iraq’s ministry of health reported 4,512 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking the total nationwide number to more than 1,130,000.
The ministry also reported 28 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 15,883, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,043 to 1,028,627.
It noted 8,774 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 470,137.
