Cloud of doubt surrounds coronavirus figures reported by Iraqi government
There is great skepticism in Iraqi society and in the media about the government’s statistics of how many people have been infected by and died from the coronavirus.
Iraqis are highly skeptical of the statistics announced by the Iraqi government regarding the country's number of coronavirus cases. This doubt is evident in media reports and blogs of journalists and activists on social media.
Health Minister Jaafar Allawi said April 12 in a television interview, “The number of coronavirus cases is subject to international monitoring. Death certificates and forensic medicine are monitored and coronavirus statistics cannot be manipulated in any way.” As of April 14, the country had registered 1,400 cases and 78 deaths, according to a statement by the Health Ministry.
An administrator working at a medical center east of Baghdad said during an interview with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “The numbers that the Iraqi Health Ministry announces daily are not the real numbers. On one day, we recorded more than 30 cases in one health center, but in the evening the Iraqi statistics that were revealed showed fewer cases than those recorded in our center.”
The United Nations mission in Iraq seemed to second this skepticism when it called on the Iraqi government April 3 to support independent reports on the number of coronavirus infections, saying, “The pandemic is an unprecedented global threat that requires strong responses from governments, societies and individuals.”
