BAGHDAD, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Health Ministry on Friday confirmed that there are a total of 93 COVID-19 cases across the country, after detecting 10 news cases, one of them died later.
A statement by the ministry said that the 10 new cases are, five in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, two in Wasit and one in each provinces of Karbala and Babil, in addition to another one in Najaf, who died later in the day, bringing the total number of deaths to nine.
The ministry also said that 24 infected people recovered and left the hospitals.
Meanwhile, a meeting by the Iraqi crisis committee, headed by the Iraqi Health Minister Jaafar Sadiq Allawi, decided to ban the entry to Iraq of travelers from Qatar and Germany, except for official delegations and diplomatic missions, the ministry said in a separate statement.
The ban of travelers from the two countries brings the number of countries, which travelers banned from entering Iraq, to 15.
The crisis committee also decided to prevent the movement of citizens between the Iraqi provinces from March 15 to 25, with the exception of goods and emergency cases, in addition to preventing religious visits with large gatherings, the statement said.
The Iraqi authorities have been taking a series of precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19.
Late on March 7, a Chinese team of experts arrived in Baghdad as part of China's assistance in confronting the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
The team, which was sent to Iraq by the Red Cross Society of China, includes seven experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The team is expected to stay in Iraq for one month to help the government tackle COVID-19.
