Iraq reports its first coronavirus death
Earlier, Iraq reported six new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases there to 19
Iraq reported its first coronavirus death on Wednesday, an elderly man in the Kurdish province of Sulaimaniya, the local health department said.
Iraq has so far has recorded 31 cases of the new coronavirus, one Iranian student who has since been sent home and 30 Iraqis who had all visited Iran recently.
Earlier, Iraq reported six new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases there to 19, the health ministry said.
The ministry said two of the six are in the capital Baghdad and the other four in Sulaimaniya in the north east of the country. All had recently returned from neighboring Iran, which has had the highest number of deaths from coronavirus outside of China, where the outbreak originated.
The health ministry had earlier issued a separate statement telling Iraqis to avoid any gatherings, be it protests, religious ceremonies or social events to avoid catching the virus.
Iraq on Wednesday had banned public gatherings and barred entry by travelers from Kuwait and Bahrain, prohibiting travel to or from a total of nine countries.