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On Monday, the Iraqi Health Ministry announced the registration of 1,809 new cases of contagion in various parts of the country, after carrying out more than 27,000 examinations, according to daily data published by Iraqi health departments.
Although this figure seems high compared to the figures recorded days ago, which reached almost half of this number – on Saturday the Ministry announced that 742 wounded were registered – it is still lower than the daily figure that Iraq used to register in recent months. , which reached more than 3,000 cases per day in a few weeks.
An Iraqi doctor working in a Baghdad hospital told the Al-Hurra website that “the figures released by the Health Ministry, which indicate a decrease in the number of cases, appear to be correct on the ground, because hospitals do not suffer the same overcrowding as before. “
According to the doctor, who asked not to be identified, “deaths also decreased and the number of critical cases due to injuries decreased”, adding that “the last days were very stressful, but for some reason we are witnessing fewer injuries as it seems.”
And on Sunday, the Health Ministry recorded five deaths from the virus, which is the lowest since last May.
But the doctor was not optimistic about the low numbers, although he emphasized that “a break for medical personnel is an important issue”, adding that “we may be on the verge of a second wave, who knows.”
The Health Ministry does not provide forecasts on the different waves of the epidemic, but an official from the Ministry’s Statistics Department said that “the graph has decreased and it seems that it is increasing again.”
The official hoped that “people’s reluctance to go to the exam is the reason” for the low numbers, but says that “the ministry carries out thousands of checks per day, and the low numbers recorded is always a good thing, even if we consider that the reviews are not exhaustive, but merely statistical samples. “
A doctor from an international organization operating in Iraq said that the decrease in injuries may be due to the patient receiving treatment when symptoms appear, “without examining what it means to not be registered in the disease statistics.”
The doctor, who asked not to be named, added that “Iraqi society is young and many may be infected without symptoms, and it is possible that the wide spread of the infection in recent months has created a kind of herd immunity.”
According to an infectious disease health expert who spoke to Al-Hurra, “optimism is irrational these days because the numbers are not fixed yet and the statistics are inaccurate,” adding that “the only way to prevent or reduce infection is to comply with health instructions and social distancing. “
Iraq is close to officially registering 600,000 cases, while experts believe that registered cases may represent only 25 percent of actual cases due to lack of evidence and its inaccuracy.
The Iraqi Health Ministry is preventing Iraqi doctors and experts from informing the media about the virus, making it difficult to obtain accurate statistics or independent opinions.
As a result of the virus, more than 12,000 people have died, while more than 40,000 Iraqis are in hospitals as a result of their deteriorating state.
