Iraq on alert over possible new Covid wave

Baghdad, June 18 (IANS) Iraq's Health Ministry has warned of the possibility of a new Covid-19 wave in the country, urging the public to follow health measures and get vaccinated.

"The problem of the coronavirus pandemic is still present... There is a possibility that new variants will appear," Xinhua news agency quoted Ministry spokesman Sayf al-Badr as saying.

"We are closely monitoring all developments in coordination with the World Health Organization, and there may be a pandemic wave as is happening in countries close to Iraq," he added.

On Friday, Iraq reported 339 new Covid-19 cases, raising the nationwide caseload to 2,331,487, and one more fatality, bringing the death toll to 25,226.

The total recoveries in Iraq grew by 177 to 2,303,954.

A total of 12,037 people were vaccinated against Covid-19 in the past 24 hours across Iraq, bringing the total number of doses administered to 10,785,973, according to the Ministry.