Iraq confirms 45 more virus deaths

By Safiye Karabacak

ISTANBUL (AA) - Iraq on Monday confirmed 45 fatalities from the novel coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 652.

The Health Ministry said 1,106 more cases have been recorded, taking the total infections to 21,315, while the number of recoveries reached 9,271.

The ministry announced Saturday that a new curfew will be imposed from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. (1500-0200GMT) for a week starting from Sunday.

In May, the Iraqi government reimposed a nationwide curfew to be valid until June 14 due to the recent spike in the infection rate.

Iraq imposed a curfew for the first time on March 17, before easing its restrictions on April 21.

The pandemic has claimed more than 434,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since originating in China last December. The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

Over 7.94 million cases have been reported worldwide, while more than 3.79 million people have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz