COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
details of ongoing viral outbreak in Iraq
The COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). During the pandemic, Iraq reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections on 22 February 2020 in Najaf. By April, the number of confirmed cases had exceeded 100 in the governorates of Baghdad, Basra, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Najaf.
As of 7 April 2020, officially 28,414 tests have been done in Iraq as a whole (including the Kurdistan Region), with 1202 of them turning out positive. Of those tests, 12,143 were done by the Kurdish Ministry of Health, which means that the other 16,271 were done by the Iraqi Ministry of Health. While 0.25% of the Kurdistan Region's population has been tested, only 0.05% of the rest of the country has been tested, highlighting the possible disparity between total positive case numbers between regions.
Background
Illness is stigmatized in Iraq, and there is concern that this discourages many Iraqis from seeking medical care and getting tested, which may result in an undercount of cases. Quarantine carries an additional stigma. In addition, authorities worry the tradition of washing the body after death could increase the spread of COVID-19.
Timeline
February 2020
A suspected case in the province of Dhi Qar was reported in Iraq on 22 February, which was later confirmed to be positive according to a local medical centre, but this was denied by the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
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