عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq Boosts Fight against COVID-19 with 20 New Hospitals

An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a test tube containing a blood sample of a recovered COVID-19 patient at the blood bank of Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah, on June 24, 2020. (AFP)
An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a test tube containing a blood sample of a recovered COVID-19 patient at the blood bank of Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah, on June 24, 2020. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Iraq Boosts Fight against COVID-19 with 20 New Hospitals

An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a test tube containing a blood sample of a recovered COVID-19 patient at the blood bank of Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah, on June 24, 2020. (AFP)
An Iraqi phlebotomist holds a test tube containing a blood sample of a recovered COVID-19 patient at the blood bank of Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah, on June 24, 2020. (AFP)

Iraq has dedicated 20 new hospitals to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, while announcing that it has recorded 2,179 new cases, 1,623 more recoveries and 103 deaths.

Technical Deputy of the Ministry of Environment Dr. Jassim Al-Falahi told the Iraqi News Agency on Thursday that the ministry seeks to increase the bed capacity to receive all coronavirus cases.

He added that a total of 20 hospitals will start operating in the coming period, which would increase the bed capacity to meet the demand.

On the decision to shut all private clinics for two weeks, Falahi explained it was due to some clinics treating COVID-19 cases in violation of orders.

He further said that clinics are not the right place to provide treatment for coronavirus infections or suspected cases, stressing that the purpose behind this decision is to guarantee the safety of doctors and individuals.

Falahi underlined the importance of abiding by the health and personal hygiene instructions, in addition to social distancing to curb the outbreak of COVID-19.

He added that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi inaugurated during the past days Al-Ataa hospital, located in Sadr City.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment announced that health officials had confirmed more than 2,000 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total to 69,612 cases.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Israeli Fire Kills at Least 44 People in Gaza, Hits Police Station

A Palestinian man throws water on a fire, as he inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian man throws water on a fire, as he inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
TT
20
TT

Israeli Fire Kills at Least 44 People in Gaza, Hits Police Station

A Palestinian man throws water on a fire, as he inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian man throws water on a fire, as he inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

An Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, local health authorities said, and Israel's military said it had struck a command center of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad groups.
Medics said two Israeli missiles hit the police station, located near a market, which led to the wounding of dozens of people in addition to the 10 deaths. The identities of those killed were not immediately clear.
The Israeli military said in a statement apparently referring to the same incident, that it attacked a command and control center operated by Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad groups in Jabalia, which militants used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces.
It accused Palestinian militant groups of exploiting civilians and civil properties for military purposes, an allegation Hamas and other factions deny.
Local health authorities said Israeli strikes have killed at least 34 other people in separate airstrikes across the enclave, bringing Thursday's death toll to 44, Reuters reported.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the Durra Children's Hospital in Gaza City had become non-operational, a day after an Israeli strike hit the upper part of the building, damaging the intensive care unit and destroying the facility's solar power panel system.
No one was killed. There was no Israeli comment on the incident.
Gaza's health system has been devastated by Israel's 18-month-old military campaign, launched in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas in 2023, putting many of the territory's hospitals out of action, killing medics, and reducing crucial supplies.
Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza's land.