Abu Dhabi: Iraq’s Supreme Committee for Health and National Safety decided on Saturday to impose a nationwide curfew from 8pm to 5am, starting from February 18, as part of government measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, local media reported.
The Ministry of Health, security forces, service departments and vegetable stores will be exempt from the curfew, the committee decided.
The committee said mourning assemblies will be prohibited, with the imposition of a fine of five million dinars on offenders.
All mosques and hussainiyas will be closed and open only at times of prayer to raise the call to prayer.
The committee has banned the holding of wedding parties in the banquet halls as from February 15 until further notice.
Final stages
It said students of governmental and private schools, institutes and colleges will receive their lessons electronically, starting from February 18, with the exception of medical students in their final stages.
The committee noted that massage and beauty centers will be closed for two weeks.
Iraq recorded 2,190 new infections on Saturday, bringing the tally to 641,628 cases. It has also registered 1,185 recoveries and seven deaths.
Iraq ranks first in the Arab world, with 641,628 COVID-19 infections and 31,164 deaths.
