Baghdad [Iraq], March 28 (ANI/Xinhua): The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Saturday 5,062 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 827,157.

The new cases included 2,199 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 654 in Basra, 341 in Najaf, 322 in Duhok, and 268 in Maysan, while the remaining cases were detected in other provinces, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also reported 20 new fatalities, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,177, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,368 to 741,115.

A total of 7,871,105 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 35,661 done during the day, according to the statement.

A separate ministry statement attributed the recent increase in daily COVID-19 infections to the public's failure to comply with the health restrictive measures, including the full curfew, which has negatively affected low-income people.

It also asserted the need for vaccines as the quickest way to control the spread of the pandemic because they protect people from infection by 70 to 95 percent, as well as prevent severe infection by 100 percent. (ANI/Xinhua)

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