Iraqi government extended a travel ban for five countries due to coronavirus outbreak rise

The Iraqi government extended a travel ban as fears of a coronavirus outbreak rise, the government said in a statement on Tuesday. Travelers from five other new countries were included in the ban, which already included Iran and China. The new countries are: Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Singapore, according to media reports

The four coronavirus cases in Kirkuk province brought Iraq's total to five after it reported its first case on Monday, an Iranian theology student in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf. Iraq is deeply concerned about its exposure to the Iranian outbreak, as it has deep cultural and religious ties with its neighbor and typically receives millions of Iranian pilgrims each year.

Iraq's neighbor Iran has reported 16 coronavirus deaths, the most outside China, and said on Monday it had 61 confirmed cases and 900 other suspected cased. The semi-official Mehr news agency said 320 people have been hospitalized in Iran. International experts worry that official numbers could underestimate the scale of Iran's outbreak, because of a high number of cases reported among people traveling from Iran.