Coronavirus death toll in Iraq rises to 8

By Ibrahim Saleh

BAGHDAD (AA) - The local health directorate of Karbala city confirmed Wednesday a new death from the coronavirus, taking the toll to eight across Iraq.

"The deceased patient was 68-year-old and passed away last night, hours after he was transferred to the hospital," the directorate said in a statement.

"Lab analysis confirmed on Wednesday that he was infected with COVID-19," the statement said.

The local directorate stated that "the family of the deceased will be subject to quarantine."

Last week, Baghdad shut down schools and universities for 10 days and banned travel to virus-hit states as part of its fight against the disease.

The new coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has now spread to more than 100 countries.

The global death toll is now almost 4,300, with around 118,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO, which had declared the outbreak an international health emergency, recently updated the global risk level to very high.

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara.