Iraq confirms 7th coronavirus death

BAGHDAD

Iraq on Monday confirmed the seventh coronavirus death in the country and the first in the southeastern Basra city.

In a statement, the Basra Health Directorate said: “A 74-year-old coronavirus patient died three days after returning from Iran, where he had a heart surgery.”

In a related development, the local administration in Basra announced suspending work at government institutions until March 22, with the exception of security and services institutions.

Also, the Kurdish Region Government in northern Iraq announced on Monday it is suspending work at government departments for two weeks.

Iraq has so far reported 67 coronavirus cases, seven of whom have died and four recovered.

The coronavirus has spread to over 90 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The global death toll from the virus is around 3,800, with more than 109,000 confirmed cases since COVID-19 emerged in China in December, the UN health body said.

As part of the efforts to contain the outbreak, some governments closed borders and suspended land and air travel with many countries including China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea.

The WHO had declared the outbreak an international health emergency, and later updated the global risk assessment to “very high.”

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat