Iraq infections surge as coronavirus variant fuels second wave

Fatigued and overloaded, health workers struggle to cope with a second wave of the coronavirus in Iraq.

Baghdad, Iraq –  Nursing Activity Manager Maxime Pirard is visibly tired. The young healthcare provider has been working tirelessly in one of Baghdad’s COVID-19 intensive care units, as the country sinks further under the weight of a second wave of the coronavirus. The clinic, run by the medical organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, expanded its capacity from 36 to 51 beds at the beginning of last month, as reported daily cases soared across the country from about 800 in February to more than 5,000 in March. On March 25, the country recorded 6,513 infections. “The biggest challenge is that the flow of patients is really high and the staff is really tired,” Nurse Pirard told Al Jazeera. “We have a lot of staff also getting sick, so a lot of colleagues are doing extra duties.”