On Sunday, the Iraqi authorities imposed a complete lockdown nationwide until March 28 over fears of coronavirus outbreak, as the number of cases grew and the death toll climbed to 20.
Despite the local curfews imposed by most Iraqi provinces, the new measures would include the whole of the country, according to a new decision by the government's crisis cell.
"Schools, universities and other gathering places would remain closed, as would the country's multiple international airports," it said in a statement seen by the media.
Many had feared a potential influx of cases from neighboring Iran, where 1,685 people have died after contracting the COVID-19 respiratory illness, according to the latest official toll Sunday.
Iraq has reported a total of 233 coronavirus cases and recorded 20 deaths, but there are concerns that many more are going undetected as only 2,000 people of the country's 40 million population have been tested so far.
Authorities have struggled to enforce previous curfews.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims turned out in Baghdad and other cities in the south of the country to commemorate the death of a revered Muslim imam.
In addition to Moqtada Sadr who has continued to hold mass prayers in his hometown of Kufa south of Baghdad and in the capital's densely-populated Sadr City.
The Iraqi health minister has expressed his fears of a wider outbreak would overwhelm the country's health system, which already faces shortages in equipment, medicine and staff after decades of conflict and little investment by national authorities.
Last week, the minister said he had not been granted his request for $5 million in emergency funds from the federal government.
Iraq is OPEC's second-biggest crude producer, and falling oil prices have put the country in a bind as more than 90% of its state budget is funded by oil revenues.
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