BAGHDAD, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraq reported on Tuesday 12,185 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count since the outbreak of the pandemic, raising the nationwide caseload to 1,577,013.
A statement by the health ministry also confirmed 71 more deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 18,418, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 8,547 to 1,429,542.
A total of 12,856,522 tests have been carried out in Iraq since the outbreak of the disease last year, with 52,367 done during the day, it said.
The statement also said a total of 111,122 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses administered to 1,480,784.
The recent increase in daily infections and deaths prompted Abed Uon al-Abadi, a member of the parliamentary health committee, to urge health authorities to take strict measures to keep the epidemiological situation under control.
"Iraq has entered a very serious stage of the pandemic, and the authorities must strictly tighten health-protective measures, including the option of imposing a full curfew," al-Abadi said.
On June 26, spokesman of the health ministry Sayf al-Badr said that Iraq entered the "third wave" of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that the new wave is more severe and dangerous than the previous waves.
Iraq has been pushing forward its vaccination drive since the drug authority approved in January the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine and other COVID-19 vaccines. Enditem
