Baghdad, Dec 7 (IANS): The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 1,680 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 564,200.

The ministry also reported 21 new deaths and 1,910 more recovered cases in the country, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 12,432 and the total recoveries to 493,567, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

A total of 3,671,654 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February, with 31,823 done during the day, according to a ministry statement.

The ministry spokesman Sayf al-Badr commented in a press release on reports which said that some students were infected with coronavirus days after the start of the new school year.

"The possibility of recording coronavirus infections among students was expected, and we were ready to deal with such a situation before the start of the school year. We have prepared teams to detect symptoms of the coronavirus so that we can isolate the infected," al-Badr said.

Al-Badr warned that the health decisions of the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi are clear, and any school will be closed if it does not abide by the decisions.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to contain the pandemic since February when the first coronavirus case appeared in the country.

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.