A spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Saif Al-Badr, told the Iraqi News Agency:
• Genetic mutations in coronavirus infections are normal, as genetic mutations occur, and strains appear that differ in some characteristics, and may be more or less dangerous than before.
• The Ministry of Health’s laboratories have the ability to diagnose the new mutant or something else through the genetic sequencing device that the Ministry has updated in the Central Public Health Laboratory of the Public Health Department in the Ministry’s center in Baghdad.
• We communicate with the World Health Organization and scientific and medical authorities inside and outside Iraq, and we continue to update information and diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities, and we have the ability to deal with injuries in the event of their diagnosis.
• The symptoms of the new variant are similar to the symptoms of the previous variants of Covid-19, and we urge citizens, especially the elderly and those with chronic diseases and immune disorders, to commit to wearing masks, washing hands constantly, and physical distancing.
• The treatment protocol approved by the Ministry continues to be updated to follow up on all epidemiological cases.
Does the new mutant represent an epidemic wave?
Iraqi health expert Jamal Muhammad says, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”:
• There is no cause for excessive concern, as the global infections are still relatively under control, and that is why it is not possible to talk about a new epidemic wave, especially since the World Health Organization classifies the risk of the mutant as low, and this does not mean, of course, to underestimate it.
The current situation requires everyone to take into account the preventive measures that were widely spread during the emergence of the pandemic and its peak, especially in 2020 and 2021, most notably care for personal hygiene, especially washing hands with soap and water well, avoiding crowded and closed places, and reviewing the nearest hospital or health center when any appears. Signs that may be due to infection, such as sore throat, runny nose, high fever, and general pain.
• As in the various variants that preceded it, the elderly and patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and those who suffer from weak or ailing immune systems, are the groups most affected by the complications of infection with the new variant, which requires them to be more careful than others.
• Iraq, like other countries, has undoubtedly gained experience in confronting the virus with its various variants and mutations, which is clearly reflected in the absence of any widespread fears among citizens, who in turn have become familiar with the rules of safety to avoid infection.
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