Iraq has thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases, many times more than the 772 it is has publicly reported, according to three doctors closely involved in the testing process, a health ministry official and a senior political official.
The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity. Iraqi authorities have instructed medical staff not to speak to the media.
Iraq's health ministry, the only official outlet for information on the coronavirus, dismissed the sources' reading of the spread of the disease.
The three doctors, who work in pharmaceutical teams helping test suspected COVID-19 cases in Baghdad, each said that confirmed cases of the disease, based on discussions among fellow medics who see daily results, were between about 3,000 and 9,000 although they each gave different estimates.
Meanwhile, a decision taken by the National Security Council and the coronavirus taskforce to limit the movement of journalists during the lockdown has sparked criticism.
An organization working on the defense of press freedoms slammed the decision as a clear violation of press freedoms.
