ERBIL - Iraq's Ministry of Health said on Sunday that 9,147 new infections of COVID-19 had been recorded across the country within the previous 24 hours.

During the same period, 8,592 patients were also discharged from the hospital in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region as well, the ministry pointed out in a statement.

The death toll spiked to 18,287 with 55 new fatalities related to the coronavirus.

Iraq has so far registered 1,552,648 COVID-19 cases since the virus first appeared in the country in February 2020, out of which 1,411,029 people have recovered.

According to the latest updates by the health ministry, a total of 123,332 cases remain active across Iraq.