Iraq’s coronavirus surge sparks ‘epidemiological catastrophe’ warning

More than 1.5 million people have now tested positive for Covid-19 but much of the country’s 40-million-strong population remains sceptical of vaccines

A Baghdad hospital chief warned earlier this month that unless more people get jabbed, Iraq will spiral towards ‘an epidemiological catastrophe’

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Covid-19 patients receive treatment at a hospital in Najaf, Iraq, on July 14. Infections in the country have surged to record highs amid a third wave spurred by the more aggressive Delta variant. Photo: AP

Published: 10:41pm, 26 Jul 2021Updated: 5:32am, 27 Jul 2021

Iraq has recorded 12,180 Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Monday, the highest number detected in a single day so far in the pandemic.

More than 1.5 million people have now tested positive and 18,347 have officially died of Covid-19 in Iraq, where the health infrastructure is dilapidated.

Much of the 40-million-strong population remains sceptical of vaccines, with only 1.3 million having been inoculated, the health ministry says. It is not clear how many of those have received two jabs.

An Iraqi man is inoculated against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre in the city of Kufa on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Monday’s record “unfortunately, does not surprise us because of a lack of respect for mandatory hygiene measures such as a ban on gatherings and mask wearing”, ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said.

“This increase is probably due to the large number of gatherings during the Eid [al-Adha] festival” marking the end of the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, he said.

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