"There is a noticeable increase in the positive cases during the past few days, as well as an increase in the number of infected people in hospitals, which means that Iraq has entered a new pandemic wave," the ministry said in a statement.

It said that the resurgence of infections is an inevitable result of many people not receiving COVID-19 vaccines despite their availability in all health centers in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces, as well as the non-adherence to health-protective measures.

The ministry called for speedier vaccination and returning to adhere to individual and societal protective measures, the statement added.

On Monday, Iraq reported 515 new COVID-19 cases, raising the nationwide tally and death toll to 2,332,692, and one more fatality, bringing the death toll from the virus to 25,229. The total recoveries in Iraq grew by 225 to 2,304,557.

A total of 18,691,060 tests have been carried out in Iraq since the outbreak of the disease in early 2020, with 6,317 done during the day, it said.

A total of 14,420 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in the past 24 hours across Iraq, bringing the total number of doses administered to 10,797,872, according to the Health Ministry.

Iraq has been pushing forward its vaccination drive since the drug authority approved in January 2021 the emergency use of China's Sinopharm vaccine and other COVID-19 vaccines.

The Chinese government has sent several batches of medical aid to Iraq and donated four shipments of Sinopharm vaccines to help fight the pandemic.

(With UNI/Xinhua inputs)