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
22
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
Metn
23
o
Keserwan
23
o
North
27
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
22
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Religious Movies
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
22
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
Metn
23
o
Keserwan
23
o
North
27
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
22
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
Lebanon News
2024-03-27
Breaking news: Israeli aircraft hits cafe in Naqoura
Lebanon News
2024-03-27
Breaking news: Israeli aircraft hits cafe in Naqoura
0
Sports News
2024-03-21
World Cup Asian qualifiers: Match between Lebanon and Australia ends with a 2-0 victory for the host, Australia
Sports News
2024-03-21
World Cup Asian qualifiers: Match between Lebanon and Australia ends with a 2-0 victory for the host, Australia
0
Sports News
2024-03-21
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers: The match's first half ends with the Australian team leading the Lebanese team 1-0
Sports News
2024-03-21
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers: The match's first half ends with the Australian team leading the Lebanese team 1-0
0
Lebanon News
2024-03-21
Israeli warplanes break sound barrier over Nabatieh and Iqlim al Tuffah, NNA reports
Lebanon News
2024-03-21
Israeli warplanes break sound barrier over Nabatieh and Iqlim al Tuffah, NNA reports
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Middle East News
2023-12-14
Israeli Knesset passes new wartime budget
Middle East News
2023-12-14
Israeli Knesset passes new wartime budget
0
Press Highlights
2024-02-22
Gaza situation links to Lebanon's future: Paris-planned conference for army support faces postponement
Press Highlights
2024-02-22
Gaza situation links to Lebanon's future: Paris-planned conference for army support faces postponement
0
Lebanon News
2024-02-17
LBCI sources: 'Dispute' with consortium linked to TotalEnergies' refusal to reduce deadline for seismic surveys
Lebanon News
2024-02-17
LBCI sources: 'Dispute' with consortium linked to TotalEnergies' refusal to reduce deadline for seismic surveys
0
Lebanon News
2024-03-28
Pierre Achkar affirms: Holiday season 'positives' won't affect hotel establishments
Lebanon News
2024-03-28
Pierre Achkar affirms: Holiday season 'positives' won't affect hotel establishments
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
01:05
Israeli strikes on Syria kill dozens
Middle East News
01:05
Israeli strikes on Syria kill dozens
2
Lebanon News
03:40
Citizen killed in Israeli drone attack in Bazouriye
Lebanon News
03:40
Citizen killed in Israeli drone attack in Bazouriye
3
Lebanon News
03:04
Israeli drone strikes car in Bazouriye, south Lebanon
Lebanon News
03:04
Israeli drone strikes car in Bazouriye, south Lebanon
4
Lebanon News
07:46
Hezbollah official killed in Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon: AFP
Lebanon News
07:46
Hezbollah official killed in Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon: AFP
5
News Bulletin Reports
13:28
UNHCR and WFP aid reduction: A threat to Syrian families in Lebanon
News Bulletin Reports
13:28
UNHCR and WFP aid reduction: A threat to Syrian families in Lebanon
6
News Bulletin Reports
12:00
Navigational Spoofing: Challenges in the Middle East Skies
News Bulletin Reports
12:00
Navigational Spoofing: Challenges in the Middle East Skies
7
Lebanon News
05:56
Hezbollah mourns three martyrs from south Lebanon
Lebanon News
05:56
Hezbollah mourns three martyrs from south Lebanon
8
Lebanon News
07:52
Israeli army says it killed deputy commander of Hezbollah rocket and missiles unit
Lebanon News
07:52
Israeli army says it killed deputy commander of Hezbollah rocket and missiles unit
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