An Iraqi man blesses a worker, wearing a mask, with incense on Tuesday in the courtyard of the shrine of Imam Ali in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf, where the first case of COVID-19 has been documented in Iraq. Photo: AFP

 
The Iraqi Health Ministry on Tuesday announced five more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 31.

One of the five cases was detected in the capital Baghdad, two in Wasit Province and one in the provinces of Najaf and Karbala each, the ministry said in a statement, without giving further details.

The Iraqi authorities have been taking a series of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus after cases were confirmed in the country.