SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi said on Saturday that most of the new coronavirus infections in the country are the new virus strain.
Iraq has been among the countries hardest-hit by coronavirus in the Middle East, with 664,750 reported cases and 13,245 deaths.
The ministry of health said earlier on Saturday that it had recorded 3,273 new cases of the coronavirus, with 13 deaths and 1,978 recoveries.
New lockdown measures came into effect in Iraq on Friday as it recorded its highest new COVID-19 caseload in 2021.
Authorities announced new overnight curfews began on February 18, from 08:00 p.m. until 05:00 a.m., as well as full lockdowns on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays.
It has also blamed the new “UK strain,” which emerged in southern England in December and is thought to be more contagious than others.
“More than 50% of new cases of COVID-19 are the new strain,” Tamimi said in an interview with Iraqiyah channel, according state news agency INA.
