BAGHDAD, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Health Ministry on Saturday said that the total nationwide COVID-19 infections reached 400,124, after the registration of 2,344 new cases, which are lower than the average daily infections.
The lower daily cases of infection came as a result of using fewer test kits, as the ministry reported 13,863 test kits during the day, and a total of 2,470,645 tests have been conducted since the outbreak, according to the statement.
The ministry used to conduct an average of more than 20,000 testing kits per day, but observers believe that the decrease in the number of testing kits was due to the major Shiite religious ritual of Arbaeen that made many health workers travel to the holy city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad.
The ministry also reported 55 deaths during the day, raising the death toll to 9,790, while 4,233 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 332,330.
Meanwhile, the ministry's spokesman Sayf al-Badr said in a press release that the possibility of increasing COVID-19 infections in the coming days is high due to the increase in the number of seasonal influenza infections during the winter.
The recent increase of COVID-19 infections in the country also prompted Deputy Health Minister Hazim al-Jumaili to announce late on Friday that the Ministry of Health will discuss a return to the curfew measure in the Higher Committee for Health of National Safety, which is headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
"The coronavirus infection is increasing worldwide, and this represents a serious warning which requires additional health-protective measures by the Iraqi authorities and the citizens," al-Jumaili told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Al-Jumaili also said that the drop in temperatures in the coming winter, as well as social and religious gatherings, is a catalyst for the transmission of the virus, at a time when citizens continue non-compliance with the health-protective measures, according to INA.
Earlier, the health ministry frequently attributed the increase of COVID-19 infections to the lack of public compliance to the health instructions and the stronger testing capacity with the increase of labs in Baghdad and other provinces.
Iraq has taken a series of measures to contain the pandemic since February when the first coronavirus case appeared in the country.
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 Baghdad.
Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq. Enditem
