ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq on Thursday recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Health, with more than 9,000 cases recorded in 24 hours.
According to daily figures published by the ministry, 9,189 new coronavirus cases were registered in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases recorded to 1,406,289.
It comes a day after Iraqi authorities announced an ease in curfew measures that have been in place since May, reducing the nighttime curfew by four hours.
The Ministry of Health said that the significant rise in cases is a result of non-compliance with preventive measures.
Spokesperson Saif al-Badr told the Iraqi News Agency that media outlets should “intensify the dissemination of health awareness in order to warn citizens of the dangers of the pandemic."
More than one million people across Iraq have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the ministry.
The ministry warned in late June that the country was entering a "more severe and dangerous" wave of the pandemic.
