A worker disinfects oxygen cylinders in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 7, 2020. A government-owned oxygen filling factory in Iraq has increased its filling of oxygen cylinders and the liquid gas to meet the demand of the Iraqi hospitals amid the continued rise in COVID-19 infections. The resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic continued in Iraq on Tuesday, as the Iraqi Health Ministry confirmed 2,426 new cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections nationwide to 64,701. (Xinhua)
BAGHDAD, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic continued in Iraq on Tuesday, as the Iraqi Health Ministry confirmed 2,426 new cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections nationwide to 64,701.
The ministry also reported 118 more deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 2,685 in the country.
It also said that 1,511 people recovered during the day, bringing the total recoveries from the disease to 36,252.
The new cases were recorded after 11,813 testing kits were used, as the total number of tests carried out in Iraq so far rose to 624,420, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, Ryadh Abdul-Amir, head of the Health Department in the Health Ministry, said that if a vaccine in Britain succeeds in its final test in two or three months, it could be available at the end of 2020.
But if this vaccine fails, or other vaccines do not appear, then the world would be exposed to further waves of infections that could last for years, he said.
"We will deal with coronavirus pandemic until the emergence of a final vaccine or treatment as we have dealt with in the past six months. There is no way but to wait," Abdul-Amir added.
Asaad Abdul-Aziz, head of the government-owned oxygen filling factory, told Xinhua that the factory has increased its filling of oxygen cylinders and the liquid gas to meet the demand of the Iraqi hospitals amid the continued rise in COVID-19 infections.
"As directed by the Higher Committee and National Safety, we have increased our production of oxygen cylinders from 500 per day to 1,500, and the liquid gas from 3,000 kg per day to 8,000 kg," said Abdul-Aziz in the factory site in Taji area, some 20 km north of Baghdad.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic.
China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad.
Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq. Enditem
