<p>Iraq on Monday confirmed its first&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/indian-markets-crash-as-coronavirus-alarm-spreads-globally-282430" target="_blank">novel coronavirus case</a>&nbsp;in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials.</p>

<p>Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iraq-protests-ali-al-sistani-warns-foreign-actors-against-interfering-in-anti-government-protests-259329" target="_blank">people have died</a>&nbsp;of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week.</p>

<p>Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the country's first confirmed case.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/coronavirus-death-toll-surges-to-2-469-282273" target="_blank">Coronavirus death toll surges to 2, 469</a></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/coronavirus-death-toll-surges-to-2-469-282273/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Najaf's provincial health authority said the Iranian national had entered "before the ban was declared" in a statement on Monday. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/coronavirus-cases-triple-in-south-korea-with-556-infected-nationwide-282187" target="_blank">deaths from the COVID-19 virus</a>&nbsp;in Iran were the first in the Middle East and the country's toll is now the highest outside mainland China, the epidemic's epicentre.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Chinese nationals have been barred from entering Iraq, despite its hosting several Chinese oil companies.&nbsp;Iraq also closed the only border crossing with Kuwait at Safwan, south of Basra, late Sunday evening, after Kuwait confirmed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/coronavirus-2-dead-79-infected-in-italy-as-country-resorts-to-punitive-measures-to-contain-outbreak-282178" target="_blank">multiple COVID-19 cases</a>.</p>

<p>Concern has spread over social media networks in Iraq, with users expressing fears that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-korea-raises-alert-to-highest-level-as-coronavirus-cases-jump-282208" target="_blank">country cannot accommodate a coronavirus outbreak</a>. Many hospitals in the country are poorly equipped or in disrepair and there are less than 10 doctors for every 10,000 people, the World Health Organization says.</p>

<p>The novel coronavirus has spread to more than 25 countries since it emerged in December and is causing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-confirms-two-more-deaths-among-13-new-coronavirus-cases-282011" target="_blank">mounting alarm due to new outbreaks</a>&nbsp;in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This week it reached Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Bahrain and Kuwait in the Middle East, with cases previously confirmed in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.</p>


Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week.

Iraq on Monday confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an elderly Iranian national in the southern shrine city of Najaf, according to health officials. Iraq, a country with a dilapidated healthcare system, often hosts pilgrims and religious students from Iran, where 12 people have died of the novel coronavirus since an outbreak there was first reported last week. Iraq had blocked travel to and from the Islamic republic days before announcing a seminary student in Najaf was the country's first confirmed case. Watch: Coronavirus death toll surges to 2, 469 Najaf's provincial health authority said the Iranian national had entered "before the ban was declared" in a statement on Monday. The deaths from the COVID-19 virus in Iran were the first in the Middle East and the country's toll is now the highest outside mainland China, the epidemic's epicentre. Chinese nationals have been barred from entering Iraq, despite its hosting several Chinese oil companies. Iraq also closed the only border crossing with Kuwait at Safwan, south of Basra, late Sunday evening, after Kuwait confirmed multiple COVID-19 cases. Concern has spread over social media networks in Iraq, with users expressing fears that the country cannot accommodate a coronavirus outbreak. Many hospitals in the country are poorly equipped or in disrepair and there are less than 10 doctors for every 10,000 people, the World Health Organization says. The novel coronavirus has spread to more than 25 countries since it emerged in December and is causing mounting alarm due to new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This week it reached Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Bahrain and Kuwait in the Middle East, with cases previously confirmed in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Iraq confirms first novel coronavirus case

The number of deaths due to China's coronavirus epidemic jumped to 722, surpassing the toll from the SARS outbreak on the mainland and Hong Kong almost two decades ago. More than 34,500 confirmed infections reported across the country.

Tencent denies showing real nCoV death toll, says media reports doctored

The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak has now surpassed that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, epidemic nearly two decades ago, as the number of fatalities reaches 900

Coronavirus deaths exceeds that of SARS

More than 900 people have now died in mainland China from the coronavirus that emerged in the central city of Wuhan at the end of last year with the World Health Organization (WHO) deploying a team to the country to investigate the outbreak. More than 80 Chinese city governments have launched some form of quarantine measures.

Inside Wuhan's Quarantine Centres | WION-CGTN Exclusive report from Wuhan | nCoV report