BAGHDAD, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday 4,181 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily record in 2021, bringing the total nationwide infections to 675,982.
The new cases included 1,369 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 668 in Najaf, 627 in Basra, 319 in Dhi Qar, 266 in Karbala, and 238 in Babil, while the other cases were detected in other provinces, the ministry said in a statement.
It also reported 16 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,311, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 2,592 to 623,337.
A total of 6,640,509 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 43,376 done during the day.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that most of the citizens adhered to the health-protective measures during the past four days.
"The rate of adherence to health-protective measures in crowded areas and public markets such as al-Shorja in downtown Baghdad has reached more than 90 percent," INA quoted al-Tamimi as saying.
Al-Tamimi also said that there was a high level of coordination between the security forces and health personnel, raising hope the coronavirus infections would decrease if the adherence of citizens continues during the remaining period of the curfew, according to INA.
On Feb. 13, the Iraqi health authorities decided to impose a partial curfew for four days and a full curfew for three days every week during the period from Feb. 18 to March 8.
During the period, the partial curfew will start from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. While the full curfew will be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm and Britain's AstraZeneca vaccines to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
From March 7 to April 26 in 2020, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help fight the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad.
China has also sent batches of medical aid to Iraq.