covid 19

Spread of COVID 19 Virus from Infected Patients Antibody Response, and Interpretation of Laboratory Testing Examined in New Rapid Responses to Government from Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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Dyhydromatics Processors Used in Manufacturing Rapid COVID 19 Test Kits

ShearJet® HP1200-20 provides for GMP manufacturing process




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SARS2/COVID 19 in Middlesex County, Massachusetts: A Pilot Community Report

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3D Printing And Covid 19 – What Is The FDA Doing?

The FDA continues to take creative and flexible approaches to address access to critical medical products in response to COVID-19. Researchers at academic institutions, non-traditional manufacturers, communities of makers, and individuals are banding together to support and fill local and




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3D Printing Advances And Usage During Covid 19

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¿Cómo diferenciar los síntomas de la rinitis con los de el covid 19?

¿Cómo diferenciar los síntomas de la rinitis con los de el covid 19?




covid 19

La OMS confirma que la inmunidad de las vacunas contra el Covid 19 dura 6 meses




covid 19

Webinar: Turkey’s Challenging Post-COVID 19 Outlook

Webinar: Turkey’s Challenging Post-COVID 19 Outlook 7 May 2020 — 1:00PM TO 2:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 17 April 2020

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far refused to impose a nation-wide lockdown to suppress the spread of coronavirus in the country. In late March, Turkish health officials announced that they expect the virus to peak in three weeks’ time and for Turkey to overcome it quickly. At the same time, Turkey has ruled out turning to the IMF for help in dealing with the crisis despite growing pressures on the Lira and the wider economy. The country’s relations with its traditional allies, the US and Europe, remain thorny.
This event will focus on the likely impact of the epidemic on Turkey’s economy and politics. What are the reasons behind Erdogan’s reluctance to implement a comprehensive lockdown to break the chain of virus transmission? Why is Turkey resolutely opposed to agreeing a funding package with the IMF? What is the macro outlook for 2020 and beyond for the country’s economy? And how may the government’s long-term popularity be affected?




covid 19

Unequal Consequences of Covid 19 across Age and Income: Representative Evidence from Six Countries [electronic journal].




covid 19

Covid 19 Impact: Govt. To Up Its Gross Borrowing For Fy21 To Rs. 12 Lakh Crore

As against the budget estimates (BE) for 2020-21, the government announced a raise in its estimated market borrowing from Rs. 7.8 lakh crore to Rs. 12 lakh crore. Giving the rationale, the government iterates that the Covid 19 pandemic has




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Lost Your Job Amid Covid 19: Hyundai To Pay Your Car Loan EMI

In order to help customers sail through the current unprecedented times wherein they might have suffered job loss or salary cut and may be in a difficult situation altogether when it comes to servicing of loan EMIs, leading car manufacturer Hyundai




covid 19

Covid 19 Impact: Govt. To Up Its Gross Borrowing For Fy21 To Rs. 12 Lakh Crore

As against the budget estimates (BE) for 2020-21, the government announced a raise in its estimated market borrowing from Rs. 7.8 lakh crore to Rs. 12 lakh crore. Giving the rationale, the government iterates that the Covid 19 pandemic has




covid 19

Lost Your Job Amid Covid 19: Hyundai To Pay Your Car Loan EMI

In order to help customers sail through the current unprecedented times wherein they might have suffered job loss or salary cut and may be in a difficult situation altogether when it comes to servicing of loan EMIs, leading car manufacturer Hyundai




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Ram Gopal Varma’s Devudi Corona Song Is Out, And It Is Dedicated To COVID 19!

Earlier, we reported about Ram Gopal Varma's prediction on the deadly Coronavirus outbreak and social distancing. Well, the ace filmmaker has yet again stolen the limelight with a recent Corona song.  RGV has released a song on the deadly




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Covid 19: ఇక్కడ నియామకాలు ఆగలేదు! 'టాప్' టాలెంట్ కోసం కంపెనీల సెర్చింగ్

కరోనా మహమ్మారి కారణంగా ఎన్నో కంపెనీలు నష్టాల్లోకి వెళ్లి ఉద్యోగాల కోత, వేతన కోత బాటపట్టాయి. సుదీర్ఘ లాక్ డౌన్ కారణంగా ఆర్థిక కార్యకలాపాలు నిలిచిపోయాయి. ఆర్థిక వ్యవస్థ మరో ఆరు నెలల నుండి ఏడాదికి గాని కోలుకునే పరిస్థితి లేదు. దీంతో కంపెనీలు జాబ్ కట్ లేదా శాలరీ కట్ లేదా నియామకాలు నిలిపివేయడం వంటివి




covid 19

Covid 19: ఉద్యోగులకు విమానసంస్థ షాక్, ఏడాదంతా వేతనం కట్

సీనియర్ ఉద్యోగులకు ఇండిగో విమానయాన సంస్థ షాక్ ఇచ్చింది. ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా, దేశవ్యాప్తంగా కరోనా కారణంగా విమానయాన రంగం భారీ నష్టాల్లోకి కూరుకుపోయింది. దీంతో అంతర్జాతీయ కంపెనీలు సహా దేశీయ కంపెనీలు ఉద్యోగులను తొలగించడం లేదా ఉద్యోగుల వేతనాల్లో కోత విధించడం చేస్తున్నాయి. ఆర్థిక వ్యవస్థ మరింత దారుణం: అమెరికా-చైనా ట్రేడ్ వార్‌తో కరోనా రికవరీపై దెబ్బ




covid 19

Coronavirus COVID 19 vaccine: France-based drugmaker Sanofi to start large scale human trials

Coronavirus COVID 19 vaccine news, latest update, human trials: Sanofi's Pasteur division has an established track record in influenza vaccines. Last month it had teamed with its British rival GSK to produce a vaccine candidate hoping that it will be ready in 2021.




covid 19

Covid 19 coronavirus: Health Minister David Clark announces more medicines, vaccines in $160m Pharmac Budget boost

Health Minister David Clark has rejected claims he and other Government ministers have been "gagged", as he fronted today to announce a $160 million boost to Pharmac health spending.An email from the Prime Minister's office, obtained...




covid 19

Covid 19 coronavirus: What would a transtasman bubble look like?

Australians and New Zealanders who are desperate to escape to each other's countries could soon have their wish, but passengers would need to adhere to strict travel safety protocols.On Tuesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Two new cases one day before Jacinda Ardern, Cabinet decision on level 2

After weeks of Kiwis being urged to stay home, stay safe and wash their hands, the Cabinet will have its own hands full with a final piece of the Covid data jigsaw revealed today.There are just two new cases of Covid-19 - continuing...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Shopper concerned by lack of distancing after fire alarm sounds

A woman was concerned about the lack of physical distancing among fellow shoppers after a fire alarm went off at an Auckland Pak'nSave supermarket.The woman, who did not want to be named, said while staff and security did advise...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Conor English - The importance of time to mental health

COMMENT: The lockdown has seen us all spend time with our families or a close group of people in our own bubble, for a few weeks now. For us personally this has meant time with 10 in our bubble. One of our six kids, our eldest daughter,...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Latest case arrived in New Zealand over two weeks ago

A woman has just tested positive for Covid-19 despite flying back to New Zealand more than two weeks ago.The woman, in her 20s, is one of two new confirmed cases of the virus announced today.She travelled from the United States...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Popping bubbles: Almost 500 breaches reported to police - are we ready for level 2?

Almost 500 possible breaches of level-3 rules have been reported to police this weekend, as many Kiwis prepare for what they hope will be a move to level 2 this week.People flocked to beach suburbs and took waterfront walks in cities...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: How Auckland YWCA hostel manager kept 140 residents safe in isolation

An Auckland hostel manager has revealed the impressive steps she has taken to ensure her 140 residents have been safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.The YWCA hostel in Auckland contains 173 bedrooms that house international students,...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: What you need to know about Sunday's big developments

After nearly two weeks at level 3, Cabinet is set to make its decision on when to move New Zealand down to level 2 - with the last release of public data before their big call continuing a promising streak of single-digit daily coronavirus...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Many parents won't send their kids back to school in level 2

Many parents say they will keep their children at home when schools reopen at alert level 2.The more than 900 parents who responded to a question on the New Zealand Herald's Facebook page over the weekend were evenly split on whether...




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Grace Millane's family donate Covid 19 care packages in memory of Grace

Grace Millane's family has given hundreds of care packages to patients, nurses, doctors and carers battling coronavirus.The family of the murdered British backpacker has donated more than 300 bags full of toiletries to hospitals...




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Covid 19: Kids develop mysterious illness possibly tied to coronavirus

Critically ill children have been ending up in intensive care units with shock-like symptoms in recent weeks, adding yet another mysterious layer to the coronavirus pandemic. New York health officials began issuing alerts on...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Barack Obama labels Donald Trump's coronavirus response 'absolute chaotic disaster'

Former US President Barack Obama harshly criticised President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an "absolute chaotic disaster" during a conversation with ex-members of his administration, according to a recording...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Dramatic arrest of a mother protesting in Sydney shocks bystanders

Dramatic footage has surfaced of a woman being pulled away from her screaming son by a number of police officers while protesting during the coronavirus pandemic.Two clips shared to Facebook depict the woman speaking with police...




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Covid 19 coronavirus: Anti-lockdown protesters clash with police in Melbourne

Dozens of anti-lockdown protesters swarmed the steps of Victoria's Parliament House today with several people being arrested.More than 200 people flouted social distancing restrictions to furiously demand an end to the coronavirus...




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Covid 19: लिफ्ट और सीढ़ियों से भी हो सकता है संक्रमण, इन बातों का रखें ध्‍यान

कोरोना वायरस के इन्फेक्शन से बचने के लिए पूरे विश्व के कई देशों में लॉकडाउन लगा है। कोरोना से बचने के लिए सोशल डिस्टेंसिंग बेहतर तरीका बताया जा रहा है। कोरोना को लेकर लोगों में इतनी ज्यादा दहशत है कि लोग




covid 19

Covid 19: लिफ्ट और सीढ़ियों से भी हो सकता है संक्रमण, इन बातों का रखें ध्‍यान

कोरोना वायरस के इन्फेक्शन से बचने के लिए पूरे विश्व के कई देशों में लॉकडाउन लगा है। कोरोना से बचने के लिए सोशल डिस्टेंसिंग बेहतर तरीका बताया जा रहा है। कोरोना को लेकर लोगों में इतनी ज्यादा दहशत है कि लोग




covid 19

Ram Gopal Varma’s Devudi Corona Song Is Out, And It Is Dedicated To COVID 19!

Earlier, we reported about Ram Gopal Varma's prediction on the deadly Coronavirus outbreak and social distancing. Well, the ace filmmaker has yet again stolen the limelight with a recent Corona song.  RGV has released a song on the deadly




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Covid 19 contact tracing smartphone apps




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Covid 19 impact stimulus payment




covid 19

Spread of COVID 19 Virus from Infected Patients Antibody Response, and Interpretation of Laboratory Testing Examined in New Rapid Responses to Government from Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases

A new rapid expert consultation from a standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.




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How Covid 19 dashboards are helping people make sense of the pandemic

People are actively seeking information on Covid-19’s impact — to stay updated and avoid panic.




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Mar 21: COVID 19 vulnerability, COVID- and climate and more

Firing a cannonball at an asteroid and a fossil ‘wonderchicken’



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Mar 2: Mobilizing scientists in the COVID 19 fight, riding the COVID wave and more...

NASA's space salad and Escobar's hippos are restoring an ecosystem



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Combatting COVID 19 misinformation

The COVID 19 epidemic has been accompanied by an infodemic of misinformation.




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How will Covid 19 reshape global polititcs?

Despite encouraging signs of a slowdown in infection rates, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic. The economic and social effects of Covid-19 will be far-reaching. On the other side of this pandemic will there be a new world order? How is the virus affecting the US-China relationship, South-East Asia and the global balance of power?  




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Covid 19 got me thinking

I don't believe it's been 5 years since I last posted anything. I guess Life got in the way but I promise travelling never stopped. The current Pandemic got me thinking about what freedom really means Freedom of movement freedom of choice freedom t




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COVID 19: Assessing Vulnerabilities and Impacts on Iraq

7 April 2020

Dr Renad Mansour

Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme; Project Director, Iraq Initiative

Dr Mac Skelton

Director, Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS), American University of Iraq, Sulaimani; Visiting Fellow, Middle East Centre, London School of Economics

Dr Abdulameer Mohsin Hussein

President of the Iraq Medical Association
Following 17 years of conflict and fragile state-society relations, the war-torn country is particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.

2020-04-07-Iraq-COVID-spray

Disinfecting shops in Baghdad's Bayaa neighbourhood as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images.

Iraq is a country already in turmoil, suffering fallout from the major military escalation between the US and Iran, mass protests calling for an end to the post-2003 political system, and a violent government crackdown killing more than 600 and wounding almost 30,000 - all presided over by a fragmented political elite unable to agree upon a new prime minister following Adil abd al-Mehdi’s resignation back in November.

COVID-19 introduces yet another threat to the fragile political order, as the virus exposes Iraq’s ineffective public health system dismantled through decades of conflict, corruption and poor governance.

Iraqi doctors are making every effort to prepare for the worst-case scenario, but they do so with huge structural challenges. The Ministry of Health lacks enough ICU beds, human resources, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Bogged down in bureaucracy, the ministry is struggling to process procurements of equipment and medications, and some doctors have made purchases themselves.

But individual efforts can only go so far as many Iraqi doctors are concerned the official numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases do not reflect the complexity of the situation on the ground.

The ministry relies predominately upon patients self-presenting at designated public hospitals and has only just begun community-based testing in areas of suspected clusters. Reliance on self-presentation requires a level of trust between citizens and state institutions, which is at a historic low. This gap in trust – 17 years in the making – puts Iraq’s COVID-19 response particularly at risk.

Iraq’s myriad vulnerabilities

Certain social and political factors leave Iraq uniquely exposed to the coronavirus. The country’s vulnerability is tied directly to its social, religious and economic interconnections with Iran, an epicenter of the pandemic.

Exchanges between Iran and Iraq are concentrated in two regions, with strong cross-border links between Iraqi and Iranian Kurds in the north-east, and Iraqi and Iranian Shia pilgrims in the south. Cross-border circulation of religious pilgrims is particularly concerning, as they can result in mass ritual gatherings.

The high number of confirmed cases in the southern and northern peripheries of the country puts a spotlight on Iraq's failure in managing healthcare. The post-2003 government has failed to either rebuild a robust centralized healthcare system, or to pave the way for a federalized model.

Caught in an ambiguous middle between a centralized and federalized model, coordination across provinces and hospitals during the coronavirus crisis has neither reflected strong management from Baghdad nor robust ownership at the governorate level.

This problem is part of a wider challenge of managing centre-periphery relations and federalism, which since 2003 has not worked effectively. Baghdad has provided all 18 provinces with instructions on testing and treatment, but only a handful have enough resources to put them into practice. Advanced testing capacity is limited to the five provinces with WHO-approved centers, with the remaining 13 sending swabs to Baghdad.

But the greatest challenge to Iraq’s COVID-19 response is the dramatic deterioration of state-society relations. Studies reveal a profound societal distrust of Iraq’s public healthcare institutions, due to corruption and militarization of medical institutions. Numerous videos have recently circulated of families refusing to turn over sick members - particularly women - to medical teams visiting households with confirmed or suspected cases.

As medical anthropologist Omar Dewachi notes, the ‘moral economy of quarantine’ in Iraq is heavily shaped by a history of war and its impact on the relationship between people and the state. Although local and international media often interpret this reluctance to undergo quarantine as a matter of social or tribal norms, distrusting the state leads many families to refuse quarantine because they believe it resembles a form of arrest.

The management of coronavirus relies upon an overt convergence between medical institutions and security forces as the federal police collaborate with the Ministry of Health to impose curfews and enforce quarantine. This means that, troublingly, the same security establishment which violently cracked down on protesters and civil society activists is now the teeth behind Iraq’s COVID-19 response.

Without trust between society and the political class, civil society organizations and protest movements have directed their organizational structure towards awareness-raising across Iraq. Key religious authorities such as Grand Ayatollah Sistani have called for compliance to the curfew and mobilized charitable institutions.

However, such efforts will not be enough to make up for the lack of governance at the level of the state. In the short-term, Iraq’s medical professionals and institutions are in dire need of technical and financial support. In the long-term, COVID-19 is a lesson that Iraq’s once robust public healthcare system needs serious investment and reform.

COVID-19 may prove to be another catalyst challenging the ‘muddle through’ logic of the Iraqi political elite. International actors have largely been complicit in this logic, directing aid and technical support towards security forces and political allies in the interest of short-term stability, and neglecting institutions which Iraqis rely on for health, education, and well-being.

The response to the crisis requires cooperation and buy-in of a population neglected by 17 years of failed governance. This is a seminal event that may push the country to the brink, exposing and stirring underlying tensions in state-society relations.

This analysis was produced as part of the Iraq Initiative.




covid 19

Webinar: Turkey’s Challenging Post-COVID 19 Outlook

Invitation Only Research Event

7 May 2020 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Event participants

Dr Murat Ucer, Turkey Country Analyst, GlobalSource Partners 
Chair: Fadi Hakura, Manager, Turkey Project, Europe Programme, Chatham House

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far refused to impose a nation-wide lockdown to suppress the spread of coronavirus in the country. In late March, Turkish health officials announced that they expect the virus to peak in three weeks' time and for Turkey to overcome it quickly. At the same time, Turkey has ruled out turning to the IMF for help in dealing with the crisis despite growing pressures on the Lira and the wider economy. The country's relations with its traditional allies, the US and Europe, remain thorny.
 
This event will focus on the likely impact of the epidemic on Turkey's economy and politics. What are the reasons behind Erdogan’s reluctance to implement a comprehensive lockdown to break the chain of virus transmission? Why is Turkey resolutely opposed to agreeing a funding package with the IMF? What is the macro outlook for 2020 and beyond for the country's economy? And how may the government's long-term popularity be affected?

Event attributes

Chatham House Rule

Department/project

Alina Lyadova

Europe Programme Coordinator




covid 19

Webinar: Turkey’s Challenging Post-COVID 19 Outlook

Invitation Only Research Event

7 May 2020 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Event participants

Dr Murat Ucer, Turkey Country Analyst, GlobalSource Partners 
Chair: Fadi Hakura, Manager, Turkey Project, Europe Programme, Chatham House

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far refused to impose a nation-wide lockdown to suppress the spread of coronavirus in the country. In late March, Turkish health officials announced that they expect the virus to peak in three weeks' time and for Turkey to overcome it quickly. At the same time, Turkey has ruled out turning to the IMF for help in dealing with the crisis despite growing pressures on the Lira and the wider economy. The country's relations with its traditional allies, the US and Europe, remain thorny.
 
This event will focus on the likely impact of the epidemic on Turkey's economy and politics. What are the reasons behind Erdogan’s reluctance to implement a comprehensive lockdown to break the chain of virus transmission? Why is Turkey resolutely opposed to agreeing a funding package with the IMF? What is the macro outlook for 2020 and beyond for the country's economy? And how may the government's long-term popularity be affected?

Event attributes

Chatham House Rule

Department/project

Alina Lyadova

Europe Programme Coordinator




covid 19

COVID 19: Assessing Vulnerabilities and Impacts on Iraq

7 April 2020

Dr Renad Mansour

Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme; Project Director, Iraq Initiative

Dr Mac Skelton

Director, Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS), American University of Iraq, Sulaimani; Visiting Fellow, Middle East Centre, London School of Economics

Dr Abdulameer Mohsin Hussein

President of the Iraq Medical Association
Following 17 years of conflict and fragile state-society relations, the war-torn country is particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.

2020-04-07-Iraq-COVID-spray

Disinfecting shops in Baghdad's Bayaa neighbourhood as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images.

Iraq is a country already in turmoil, suffering fallout from the major military escalation between the US and Iran, mass protests calling for an end to the post-2003 political system, and a violent government crackdown killing more than 600 and wounding almost 30,000 - all presided over by a fragmented political elite unable to agree upon a new prime minister following Adil abd al-Mehdi’s resignation back in November.

COVID-19 introduces yet another threat to the fragile political order, as the virus exposes Iraq’s ineffective public health system dismantled through decades of conflict, corruption and poor governance.

Iraqi doctors are making every effort to prepare for the worst-case scenario, but they do so with huge structural challenges. The Ministry of Health lacks enough ICU beds, human resources, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Bogged down in bureaucracy, the ministry is struggling to process procurements of equipment and medications, and some doctors have made purchases themselves.

But individual efforts can only go so far as many Iraqi doctors are concerned the official numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases do not reflect the complexity of the situation on the ground.

The ministry relies predominately upon patients self-presenting at designated public hospitals and has only just begun community-based testing in areas of suspected clusters. Reliance on self-presentation requires a level of trust between citizens and state institutions, which is at a historic low. This gap in trust – 17 years in the making – puts Iraq’s COVID-19 response particularly at risk.

Iraq’s myriad vulnerabilities

Certain social and political factors leave Iraq uniquely exposed to the coronavirus. The country’s vulnerability is tied directly to its social, religious and economic interconnections with Iran, an epicenter of the pandemic.

Exchanges between Iran and Iraq are concentrated in two regions, with strong cross-border links between Iraqi and Iranian Kurds in the north-east, and Iraqi and Iranian Shia pilgrims in the south. Cross-border circulation of religious pilgrims is particularly concerning, as they can result in mass ritual gatherings.

The high number of confirmed cases in the southern and northern peripheries of the country puts a spotlight on Iraq's failure in managing healthcare. The post-2003 government has failed to either rebuild a robust centralized healthcare system, or to pave the way for a federalized model.

Caught in an ambiguous middle between a centralized and federalized model, coordination across provinces and hospitals during the coronavirus crisis has neither reflected strong management from Baghdad nor robust ownership at the governorate level.

This problem is part of a wider challenge of managing centre-periphery relations and federalism, which since 2003 has not worked effectively. Baghdad has provided all 18 provinces with instructions on testing and treatment, but only a handful have enough resources to put them into practice. Advanced testing capacity is limited to the five provinces with WHO-approved centers, with the remaining 13 sending swabs to Baghdad.

But the greatest challenge to Iraq’s COVID-19 response is the dramatic deterioration of state-society relations. Studies reveal a profound societal distrust of Iraq’s public healthcare institutions, due to corruption and militarization of medical institutions. Numerous videos have recently circulated of families refusing to turn over sick members - particularly women - to medical teams visiting households with confirmed or suspected cases.

As medical anthropologist Omar Dewachi notes, the ‘moral economy of quarantine’ in Iraq is heavily shaped by a history of war and its impact on the relationship between people and the state. Although local and international media often interpret this reluctance to undergo quarantine as a matter of social or tribal norms, distrusting the state leads many families to refuse quarantine because they believe it resembles a form of arrest.

The management of coronavirus relies upon an overt convergence between medical institutions and security forces as the federal police collaborate with the Ministry of Health to impose curfews and enforce quarantine. This means that, troublingly, the same security establishment which violently cracked down on protesters and civil society activists is now the teeth behind Iraq’s COVID-19 response.

Without trust between society and the political class, civil society organizations and protest movements have directed their organizational structure towards awareness-raising across Iraq. Key religious authorities such as Grand Ayatollah Sistani have called for compliance to the curfew and mobilized charitable institutions.

However, such efforts will not be enough to make up for the lack of governance at the level of the state. In the short-term, Iraq’s medical professionals and institutions are in dire need of technical and financial support. In the long-term, COVID-19 is a lesson that Iraq’s once robust public healthcare system needs serious investment and reform.

COVID-19 may prove to be another catalyst challenging the ‘muddle through’ logic of the Iraqi political elite. International actors have largely been complicit in this logic, directing aid and technical support towards security forces and political allies in the interest of short-term stability, and neglecting institutions which Iraqis rely on for health, education, and well-being.

The response to the crisis requires cooperation and buy-in of a population neglected by 17 years of failed governance. This is a seminal event that may push the country to the brink, exposing and stirring underlying tensions in state-society relations.

This analysis was produced as part of the Iraq Initiative.