News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
21
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
Metn
23
o
Keserwan
23
o
North
23
o
South
22
o
Bekaa
28
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Video Clips
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
21
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
Metn
23
o
Keserwan
23
o
North
23
o
South
22
o
Bekaa
28
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
In Iraq, coronavirus terrifies even doctors hardened by conflict
Breaking Headlines
2020-03-28 | 09:26
High views
Share
Share
In Iraq, coronavirus terrifies even doctors hardened by conflict
Watch now
More details about online video viewing packages
3
min
In Iraq, coronavirus terrifies even doctors hardened by conflict
Through decades of conflict, Dr Haidar Hantoush has watched wounded soldiers and civilians flood into Iraq's emergency wards. But he's never been so scared.
"Today, the issue is a different one, we are dealing with an epidemic," he said.
Doctors and nurses across Iraq have treated hundreds of thousands of victims during decades of civil war, violence and sanctions, while watching what was once one of the best healthcare systems in the Middle East crumble.
Now, they say Iraq may be singularly unprepared for the coronavirus.
Iraq has a porous border with Iran, the worst-hit Middle Eastern country so far. The Iraqi religious calendar is dotted with annual pilgrimages, some of the biggest mass gatherings on earth, which typically attract millions of worshippers.
And since last year, Iraq's major cities have seen mass anti-government demonstrations that killed hundreds of people. State institutions are paralysed by political deadlock after the government resigned and politicians failed to form a new one.
So far, Iraq has counted more than 450 coronavirus cases and 40 deaths, most of them in the past week. But doctors worry that those figures barely scratch the surface of an epidemic that may already be raging undetected across crowded cities.
Loudspeakers on mosques in Baghdad blast out government guidelines daily urging people to stay at home and get tested if they think they are ill. A curfew is in place until April 11. Borders are shut and international flights halted.
But getting the message across is difficult in a country with deep distrust of the authorities. Tribes have sometimes refused to allow women with symptoms to be isolated because they do not want them to be alone in hospitals, Hantoush, speaking to Reuters via Skype from the city of Dhi Qar on Friday (March 27), said.
Thousands of Iraqis participated in the most recent of Iraq's major pilgrimages, to the shrine of a Shi'ite Imam in Baghdad, where they crowded in defiance of the curfew.
The United Nations praised Iraq's early measures in closing borders last month but has urged respect for the curfew.
One Baghdad doctor, requesting anonymity because the ministry forbade medical staff from speaking to media, said a sharp rise in cases is imminent. "We're bracing for what happens in the next two weeks. And we can't cope," he said.
REUTERS
To watch the full report about Coronavirus around the world, please click on the video above.
Breaking Headlines
Health
Coronavirus
World
Death
Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
Middle East News
2024-04-25
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
Middle East News
2024-04-25
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
News Bulletin Reports
12:32
Pascal Sleiman's abduction and murder: Six suspects charged
News Bulletin Reports
12:32
Pascal Sleiman's abduction and murder: Six suspects charged
0
Lebanon News
05:16
Lebanon's Cabinet adopts TNO report on Issam Abdallah's killing, seeks ICC intervention
Lebanon News
05:16
Lebanon's Cabinet adopts TNO report on Issam Abdallah's killing, seeks ICC intervention
0
Lebanon News
11:29
Young Palestinian killed in Sidon
Lebanon News
11:29
Young Palestinian killed in Sidon
0
Lebanon News
2023-07-19
Bou Habib urges constructive dialogue with EU on Syrian displacement
Lebanon News
2023-07-19
Bou Habib urges constructive dialogue with EU on Syrian displacement
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Middle East News
11:19
Al Jazeera, citing Yedioth Ahronoth: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's car overturns in a traffic accident near stabbing attack scene in Ramla
Middle East News
11:19
Al Jazeera, citing Yedioth Ahronoth: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's car overturns in a traffic accident near stabbing attack scene in Ramla
2
News Bulletin Reports
12:32
Pascal Sleiman's abduction and murder: Six suspects charged
News Bulletin Reports
12:32
Pascal Sleiman's abduction and murder: Six suspects charged
3
Lebanon News
01:35
Lebanon takes 'landmark step' towards justice for war crimes: HRW says
Lebanon News
01:35
Lebanon takes 'landmark step' towards justice for war crimes: HRW says
4
Lebanon News
00:11
Amos Hochstein in Israel: Seeking diplomatic solution to end cross-border firing, LBCI sources say
Lebanon News
00:11
Amos Hochstein in Israel: Seeking diplomatic solution to end cross-border firing, LBCI sources say
5
Lebanon News
11:29
Young Palestinian killed in Sidon
Lebanon News
11:29
Young Palestinian killed in Sidon
6
Israel-Gaza War Updates
00:21
Hamas reports receiving Israeli response to its ceasefire proposal
Israel-Gaza War Updates
00:21
Hamas reports receiving Israeli response to its ceasefire proposal
7
Lebanon News
03:33
Israeli strike in Lebanon's Beqaa region kills Lebanese militants
Lebanon News
03:33
Israeli strike in Lebanon's Beqaa region kills Lebanese militants
8
Lebanon News
05:50
Samir Geagea denounces Hezbollah's role in South Lebanon, says Lebanese army alone can secure the borders
Lebanon News
05:50
Samir Geagea denounces Hezbollah's role in South Lebanon, says Lebanese army alone can secure the borders
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More