Iraqis catch coronavirus amid outbreak in neighbour Iran

Family of four returning from a visit to Iran become first Iraqis known to have caught the new coronavirus; Iraq deeply concerned about its exposure to the outbreak.

BAGHDAD - Iraq shut schools and universities on Tuesday and told citizens to avoid mass gatherings, as it rushed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus from its neighbour Iran, hit by what appears to be the worst outbreak outside of China.

An Iraqi family of four who returned from a visit to Iran tested positive for the coronavirus in Iraq's northern Kirkuk province. They were the first Iraqis known to have caught the disease, a day after an Iranian theology student in the Shiite holy city of Najaf became Iraq's first confirmed case.

Measures to curb the spread could have major political repercussions in Iraq, where around 500 people have been killed in anti-government street demonstrations since last year. A populist cleric called off plans on Tuesday for a "million-man" demonstration.

Iraq is deeply concerned about its exposure to the Iranian outbreak. It has deep cultural and religious ties with its neighbour and typically receives millions of Iranian pilgrims each year at holy festivals that span the calendar.

The Iraqi government, which has already banned all travel from Iran and China, added Italy, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Japan to its travel ban list on Tuesday. Returning Iraqi citizens are exempt, as are diplomats.

On Tuesday the government urged Iraqis to avoid all public gatherings and announced a range of measures to curb them. Gatherings were banned outright in Najaf, one of the most heavily-visited pilgrimage sites in the world. Schools and universities were shut, for 10 days in Najaf and indefinitely in Kirkuk. The autonomous northern Kurdish region cancelled all education until after a March 20 holiday.

Iraq's neighbour Iran has reported 16 coronavirus deaths, the most outside China, and at least 95 confirmed cases including the deputy health minister and a lawmaker. On Monday it said it had 900 suspected cased, which, if confirmed, would be the most outside China. The semi-official Mehr news agency said 320 people have been hospitalised 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 travelling from Iran.

The four new cases in Iraq were placed in quarantine, the health ministry said. The Iranian student was sent back to Iran by ambulance.

Fears of a coronavirus pandemic have grown sharply this week after sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy and South Korea. The virus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,660 in China, where it originated late last year.

World's biggest cemetery

Najaf, burial place of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali, attracts millions of Shiite pilgrims each year. It is home to the world's biggest cemetery, where Shiites from around the world, especially Iran and Iraq, are sent to be buried.

The governor of Kerbala, another nearby Shiite holy city which attracts millions of pilgrims a year, banned Iranian and Chinese visitors. Iranians are the biggest group of foreign pilgrims and Chinese employees work at an oil refinery there.

It remains to be seen how the efforts to curb public gatherings will affect the public demonstrations that have sustained Iraq's domestic political crisis.

Populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr suspended a call for his followers to hold a "million-man" protest, saying he had decide to forbid the events "for your health and life, for they are more important to me than anything else".