Baghdad, Jul 31 (IANS): The Iraqi Health Ministry told the people to abide by the full curfew and to avoid gatherings and unnecessary outdoor trips during the forthcoming Eid al-Adha holiday.

A statement by the ministry on Thursday said that on the occasion of the festival "the people should abide by the health preventive measures and stay at homes except for the extreme necessity and that congratulations and blessings should be done through social media."

The compliance will protect the people from being infected with the coronavirus, as well as to avoid what happened after the last Eid al-Fitr holiday, about three months ago, when high numbers of infections and deaths were recorded, the statement said, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate statement, the health ministry reported 2,963 COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections in the country to 121,263.

It also reported 68 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll to 4,671, while 2,085 more patients recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 85,546.

On July 26, Iraq's Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, decided to extend the weekly full curfew from July 30 to August 9, including the Eid al-Adha holiday.

China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad.

Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq.