Coronavirus: Iraq confirms first death as number of cases continues to rise

Second country within Middle East to record fatality linked to Covid-19

Iraq has confirmed its first death from coronavirus, an elderly man in the Kurdish province of Sulaimaniya.

It is the second country within the Middle East, after Iran, to record a fatality linked to the virus, otherwise known as Covid-19.

A local health department in Iraq’s Kurdish province announced the death, Reuters reports.

The country has so far recorded 31 cases of Covid-19, one Iranian student who has since been sent home and 30 Iraqis who had all recently visited Iran.

Last week, Iraqi authorities shut schools and universities for a 10-day period and banned travel to virus-hit states as part of containment efforts.

The border with Iran was also shut for three days last, while officials decided to stop issuing visas to Iranians.

In neighbouring Iran, coronavirus has killed 66 and infected more than 1,500 as health officials struggle to stop the spread of the disease.

To date, more than 93,000 cases and 3,112 deaths have been reported globally.