Few vehicles are seen on a road during curfew hours on the first day of Eid al-Fitr festival in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 13, 2021. The Iraqi authorities decided on Thursday to ease COVID-19 restrictive measures and replace full curfew with a partial one to facilitate the vaccination campaign, as the country's total caseload reached 1,132,092. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD, May 13 -- The Iraqi authorities decided on Thursday to ease COVID-19 restrictive measures and replace full curfew with a partial one to facilitate the vaccination campaign, as the country's total caseload reached 1,132,092.
A statement by the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said the committee decided to impose a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time instead of the 10-day full curfew imposed earlier in the week.
The committee also decided to continue closing malls, restaurants, cafes, and other public facilities until Monday when they will be allowed to operate from 5 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., according to the statement.
The committee's decisions come as the full curfew measures led to a decreasing number of people heading to vaccination centers, the statement explained.
On May 4, a statement by the media office of al-Kadhimi said the higher committee approved a full curfew from May 12 to May 22, and decided to close malls, restaurants, cafes, and other public facilities to control the spread of coronavirus.
Iraq's ministry of health reported 4,512 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total nationwide number to 1,132,092.
The ministry also reported 28 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 15,883, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,043 to 1,028,627.
A total of 9,817,969 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 36,303 done during the day.
It noted 8,774 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 470,137.
Iraq has been pushing forward a vaccination drive in the country after its drug authority approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm vaccines and other COVID-19 vaccines.
Since the early stage of the pandemic in 2020, the Chinese government has sent medical aid to Iraq and donated two shipments of Sinopharm vaccines to the country to help combat the pandemic.
