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AFP
Baghdad
Iraq on Tuesday confirmed four new cases of the novel coronavirus in an Iraqi family returning from neighbouring Iran, bringing its total number of diagnosed infections to five.
The health ministry said the four were quarantined in Kirkuk, an oil-rich region north of Baghdad, where the governor said authorities were implementing emergency measures to stymie a larger outbreak.
The latest infections came a day after Iraq confirmed its first COVID-19 case, an Iranian national studying in a Shiite seminary in the shrine city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
Iraq last week banned travel to and from the Islamic Republic, which has recorded 15 deaths from COVID-19, the highest death toll outside China, the epidemic’s epicentre.
It closed its land borders with Iran, allowing passage only to returning Iraqis who would be screened, while Iraq’s national airline suspended flights to the Islamic Republic.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Iraqi health ministry announced tightened measures to combat a coronavirus outbreak, urging citizens to refrain from holding celebrations and large gatherings.
Baghdad
Iraq on Tuesday confirmed four new cases of the novel coronavirus in an Iraqi family returning from neighbouring Iran, bringing its total number of diagnosed infections to five.
The health ministry said the four were quarantined in Kirkuk, an oil-rich region north of Baghdad, where the governor said authorities were implementing emergency measures to stymie a larger outbreak.
The latest infections came a day after Iraq confirmed its first COVID-19 case, an Iranian national studying in a Shiite seminary in the shrine city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
Iraq last week banned travel to and from the Islamic Republic, which has recorded 15 deaths from COVID-19, the highest death toll outside China, the epidemic’s epicentre.
It closed its land borders with Iran, allowing passage only to returning Iraqis who would be screened, while Iraq’s national airline suspended flights to the Islamic Republic.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Iraqi health ministry announced tightened measures to combat a coronavirus outbreak, urging citizens to refrain from holding celebrations and large gatherings.
