Baghdad [Iraq], July 7 (ANI/Xinhua): The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday 8,818 COVID-19 infections, the highest daily record, raising the nationwide caseload to 1,388,323.

The ministry also confirmed 31 new deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 17,376, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,998 to 1,277,242.

A total of 11,988,129 tests have been carried out in Iraq since the outbreak of the disease last year, with 52,610 done during the day, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement also said 35,860 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses administered to 959,928.Ruba Falah, head of the ministry's media office, said in a press release that the recent increase in infections is largely due to the indifference of most citizens to the seriousness of the pandemic.

"The danger of the virus remaining at such a high level of infection may lead to the emergence of strains that make the virus more lethal," she said, warning that higher COVID-19 infections will be reported if citizens continue to ignore the restrictive measures and reject vaccination. (ANI/Xinhua)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)