Najaf (Iraq) (AFP)

Closed mausoleum, closed schools and deserted streets: in Najaf, the rare gatherings take place near the pharmacies taken by assault by Iraqis panicked in a holy Shiite city heavily frequented by pilgrims from Iran - first hearth of coronavirus in the Middle -East.

Authorities announced the first case of contamination in Iraq on Monday: a religious student in Najaf, an Iranian national who returned from his family's vacation.

Since then, the holy city located 200 kilometers south of Baghdad, has gradually closed. Starting with the mausoleum of Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and founding figure of Shiite Islam, frequented each year by millions of Shiites who came mainly from Iraq and Iran to kiss or caress their hands, stones and Koran scattered in this immense place of worship.

The city's religious authorities closed the building on Monday afternoon, leaving pilgrims only to access the open esplanade that surrounds it.

Tuesday morning, schoolchildren and students also stayed at home. "The 1,028 schools in Najaf province have been closed due to the detection of a first case of coronavirus in the city," said the spokesman for the provincial directorate of education. And this "for 10 days," said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

School disinfection operations have already started, ensures the Health Department. And "13 religious students who attended the first patient declared in Iraq are currently undergoing medical examinations," the governor of Najaf Louaï al-Yasseri told AFP.

The ministry also recommended that all Iraqis - mostly Shiites and many of whom regularly go to Najaf on pilgrimage or visit the tombs of the largest cemetery in the world where most of the country's Shiites rest - avoid Najaf, "except in cases of force majeure".

In Najaf, life seemed to have stopped, an AFP correspondent reported. The rare inhabitants who risked going outside went to pharmacies in search of masks and disinfectants.

"It's been two days since there are no more masks. How will I protect my children and my wife," laments Hossam al-Khafaji, 29, met at the exit of a pharmacy in the center of the city.

"Either there are no masks or they are sold for four dollars", almost four times the usual price, he said to AFP.

And, almost five months after the start of an unprecedented revolt whose repression, intimidation and nearly 550 dead did not come to an end, the anti-power encampment was almost deserted on Tuesday, the protesters seem to fear an epidemic.

© 2020 AFP