Baghdad: The Iraqi Ministry of Health has urged citizens to adhere to the health precautionary measures during New Year celebrations amid the rapid spread of the Omicron Covid variant.

The Ministry called on citizens in a statement to follow the health precautionary measures, especially wearing masks, maintaining physical distance as well as getting vaccinated, reports Xinhua news agency.

A separate statement by the ministry said that it reported 322 new Covid-19 cases, raising the nationwide caseload to 2,092,156.

It also reported seven new deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 24,115.

Iraq has been pushing forward its vaccination drive since January.