Iraq reports 5,443 new COVID-19 cases, 779,458 in total

Xinhua
19 Mar 2021, 03:44 GMT+10

BAGHDAD, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Thursday 5,443 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 779,458.

It also reported 36 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,896, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 3,892 to 702,667.

A total of 7,540,606 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 42,246 done during the day.

Meanwhile, member of the ministry's media office, Kamel Haider, said in a press release that COVID-19 vaccines were carefully tested through a lot of researches and clinical trials, and the "Chinese vaccines are among the safest vaccines so far."

"The Chinese vaccines are made in the traditional method," Haider said, adding that there is no need for citizens to fear such vaccines.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to curb the recent rise in infections after the health ministry announced on Feb. 15 the detection of a new strain characterized by faster transmission and a higher level of severity.

On March 2, Iraq received a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help combat the pandemic.

The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccines, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sputnik V vaccines.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to China National News.

More Information

3 ℃

Fair / Windy in Shanghai/Hongqiao

International

Section

As births continue to fall, Japan seeks incentives for parents

TOKYO, Japan: Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida said this week that it was "now or never" for Japan, one of ...

US moving towards offering annual Covid vaccines to most Americans

WASHINGTON D.C.: As part of its efforts to simplify the national COVID-19 vaccine strategy, the US Food and Drug Administration ...

December crossings of US border set record

WASHINGTON D.C.: US authorities said this week that a surge in Cubans and Nicaraguans arriving at the US border with ...

Canada faces resistance to cutbacks from oil-producing Alberta

OTTAWA, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government plans to implement its long-awaited workforce transition bill, the "Just Transition," ...

Japan's Kishida expected to visit Ukraine for talks with Zelenskiy

TOKYO, Japan: The Yomiuri newspaper has reported that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to visit Kyiv in February ...

Hawaii mourns death of last island princess

HONOLULU, Hawaii: The casket bearing Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, long considered the last Hawaiian princess, has gone on public viewing ...

Asia Pacific

Section