Iraqi Doctors Say Authorities Hiding True Pandemic Figures

The Reuters news agency is quoting “three doctors closely involved in the testing process” for coronavirus as saying that the country has far more infections than authorities are admitting. The three, described as working in “pharmaceutical teams helping test suspected COVID-19 cases in Baghdad” and asking to remain anonymous, estimated the true number at anywhere from 3,000 and 9,000. As of Thursday, Iraq’s Health Ministry was reporting 772 confirmed cases and 54 deaths. A ministry spokesman would only call the claims “incorrect information.” Reuters cited another ministry official as well as a political figure, both also asking to remain anonymous, the former being cited as stating that “there were more than 2,000 confirmed cases from eastern Baghdad alone.” Iraq shares a long border with Iran, which is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world in the current pandemic, with relatively free movement at border crossings taking place until the frontier was sealed in early March. Iraq has also seen months of anti-government protests that have killed hundreds, with demonstrators rallying against what they see as corruption, political ineptitude and undue influence in the country’s affairs by Tehran.