Reuters Loses Its License To Operate In Iraq After Reporting That There Are Thousands Of More Covid-19 Cases Than What Is Reported

An Iraqi soldier wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant to sanitize a street, during a curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq March 31, 2020.REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Reuters: Iraq has confirmed thousands more COVID-19 cases than reported, medics say

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases, many times more than the 772 it is has publicly reported, according to three doctors closely involved in the testing process, a health ministry official and a senior political official.

The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity. Iraqi authorities have instructed medical staff not to speak to the media.

Iraq’s health ministry, the only official outlet for information on the coronavirus, dismissed the sources’ reading of the spread of the disease.

“It’s incorrect information,” said Saif al-Badr, the health ministry spokesman, in a text message sent to Reuters without elaborating.

The ministry said in its latest daily statement on Thursday that the total recorded confirmed cases for Iraq were 772, with 54 deaths.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Iraqi government is denying reports that they are under-counting the number of Covid-19 cases in their country (see below):


Iraq denies coronavirus news report; suspends Reuters' licence (Al Jazeera)
Coronavirus: Iraq suspends Reuters' licence after report on infection numbers (Middle East Eye)
Iraq bans Reuters over coronavirus reports (Middle East Monitor)