Iraq bans Reuters for three months over coronavirus report

News agency said infections and deaths were much higher than the official figures

TOPSHOT - Iraqi public hospital specialised doctors test a resident for COVID-19 in the capital Baghdad's suburb of Sadr City on April 2, 2020, as part of actions taken by the authorities against the Show more

Iraq banned Reuters from operating in the country for three months on Friday after the news agency reported that the number of coronavirus cases in the country was much higher than the official figures.

Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission condemned the report and said it was astonished by the claim.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Iraq had thousands of coronavirus cases, several times higher than the current official tally of 772. Quoting doctors, a heath ministry official and a senior political official, the agency also said the number of deaths was much higher than the 54 reported by authorities so far.

The Communications and Media Commission said it had also fined Reuters $20,000 and asked for an apology for the story, which has "put social security at risk”.

Iraq introduced a curfew on March 17 and restrictions on travel as part of measures to contain the infections. THe country shares an extensive border with Iran, which has the highest number of cases in the Middle East.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows worldwide infections passing 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,800 deaths. More than 200,000 people have recovered.