A woman has her hands disinfected at the entrance to a shopping center in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 13, 2020. The Iraqi Health Ministry on Thursday recorded 3,841 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, as the health officials warned of a higher number of infections in the coming days. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Health Ministry on Thursday recorded 3,841 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, as the health officials warned of a higher number of infections in the coming days.
The 3,841 cases brought the total nationwide infections to 164,277, as the ministry's health teams and institutions have used 21,026 testing kits across the country during the day, raising the total testing kits used to 1,224,909, the statement said.
It also reported 53 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll from the virus to 5,641, while 2,667 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 117,208.
Meanwhile, Riyadh al-Masoudi, a member of the parliamentary committee, said in a press release that "the coming days will witness a significant increase in the number of daily infections with the coronavirus, due to the failure to implement the preventive measures and the health instructions."
"The curfew is only applied to the employees in state institutions and the students, and it does not exist in the street," he said.
He warned that the continuing increase in daily infections with the coronavirus would make the health ministry paralyzed in front of greater numbers of infections.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic.
China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Iraq's capital Baghdad.
Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq.
