BAGHDAD, June 2 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi health ministry reported 429 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far, taking the number of infections in the country to 6,868.
The new cases included 172 in the capital Baghdad, 102 in Sulaimaniyah, 41 in Wasit, 38 in Maysan, 22 in Basra, 13 in Muthanna, 11 in Karbala, eight in Diwaniyah, six in Najaf and Nineveh each, four in Babil and Diyala each and two in Duhok, the ministry said.
The statement also reported 10 more deaths, seven of them in Baghdad’s hospitals and one in Anbar, Maysan and Sulaimaniyah each, bringing the death toll in the country to 215.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Minister of Health, Hassan al-Tamimi, said, the health situation is under control, and the ministry is exerting every effort to curb the virus.
“The percentage of beds occupied in hospitals across the country is five percent of their full capacity,” Tamimi said, noting, the health system has the ability to absorb more COVID-19 cases.
The Iraqi authorities imposed a week-long curfew from May 31 to June 6, after a meeting of the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, headed by Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
The committee ordered the security forces to tighten health restrictions through preventing all forms of gatherings that contribute to the spread of the virus.
