Iraq continued its steady incline in Saturday's number of new coronavirus infections and deaths, reporting more than 2,000 cases and 100 deaths in a single day.
A statement by the Iraqi health ministry said that 2,069 health workers had tested positive for the highly-infectious coronavirus disease out of nearly 10,000 tests conducted within a 24-hour span. According to official reports, the country has now carried out about 510,000 exams.
Many of the new cases have been registered in Iraq's populous capital Baghdad, the epicenter of the disease. At the same time, the statement wrote that about 1,100 people were still recovering from the illness.
The ministry also announced that the highly infectious disease caused 101 more patients to succumb, bringing the total to 1,660 across the world, including the Kurdistan region.
According to the health ministry, the virus has infected more than 43,000 people since the outbreak began in Iraq — after the virus crossed Iranian borders in February. Around 20,000 patients have recovered, while over 21,500 cases remain involved, of which 254 are currently in critical condition.
The rise in infections comes as poor local economies forced Iraq's regional governments to reopen their doors to business as merchants and employees found it almost impossible to reach ends during the shutdown amid minimal relief efforts.
There is also a night-time curfew in place in several provinces.
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