ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Ministry of Health is warning of a possible second wave of the COVID-19 virus that could be much more severe than what the country has seen so far.

Daily new infections of the highly contagious coronavirus have been in steady decline since November, from more than 4,000 new cases daily to under a thousand. But in the final weeks of January, the numbers have begun creeping up again.

“This might be forecasting the start of a second wave of the pandemic, God forbid, that might be worse than the first due to the failure to comply with preventative measures from most citizens,” the health ministry stated on Friday.

The ministry urged everyone to take preventative measures like wearing masks, washing hands, and practicing social distancing, warning it could impose lockdowns or ban gatherings to prevent spread of the virus.

Iraq has seen a total of 617,202 infections and 13,024 deaths since the first cases were detected late February last year.

The Kurdistan Region has confirmed 105,912 cases and 3,466 deaths. Like the rest of Iraq, numbers of new cases have steadily declined since November and in the past 10 days have not exceeded 100 per day.

Worldwide, more than 100 million people have been infected with the virus and 2.1 million people have died. After severe lockdowns and travel bans eased, a second, more deadly wave emerged last summer and new strains of the virus have been detected.

Several vaccines have been developed and Iraq expects to receive first delivery in February.

Rudaw