Baghdad, Jul 29 (IANS): Iraq reported on Wednesday 13,515 new Covid-19 cases, the highest daily count since the outbreak of the pandemic, raising the nationwide caseload to 1,590,528.

A statement by the Health Ministry also confirmed 66 more deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 18,484, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 8,217 to 1,437,759, Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 12,914,493 tests have been carried out in Iraq since the outbreak of the disease last year, with 57,971 done during the day, it said.

The statement also said a total of 117,078 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses administered to 1,575,559.

The spokesman of the Health Ministry Sayf al-Badr warned in a statement that Iraq now is witnessing "the most dangerous wave of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic."

The critical conditions are the highest so far, and the country's health institutions are under heavy pressure due to the admission of increasing numbers of critical cases, he said.

On June 26, al-Badr said that Iraq entered the "third wave" of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that the new wave is more severe and dangerous than the previous waves.

In addition, the increase in COVID-19 infection recent days pushed the Ministry of Health to impose new restrictions late on Tuesday, including closing swimming pools, gyms, and parks, as well as tightening health control over restaurants, malls, and other social gatherings.

Iraq has been pushing forward its vaccination drive since the drug authority approved in January the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccine and other COVID-19 vaccines.