Iraq is witnessing a state of anticipation and fear with the rapid spread and the great increase in cases of infection with the new corona virus in many countries of the world, including the neighboring countries, and this coincided with the launch of jokes and the suggestion of alternatives to deal with this dangerous virus.

Two women wear masks in a market in Kirkuk (Anatolia)

Despite its limited spread in Iraq, many were keen to take measures to prevent the disease, most notably by wearing health masks.

Many passers-by wearing masks in Kirkuk (Anatolia)

And Tuesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Health announced the diagnosis of four new cases infected with the Corona virus in the northern governorate of Kirkuk, for an Iraqi family who returned from Iran, while the first infection with the virus in Iraq was an Iranian student studying in Najaf (south of Baghdad) who was transferred yesterday to his country in coordination with the Iranian authorities .

Protesters in Najaf, some of them keen to wear masks (Reuters)

Fearing the spread of the disease, the Ministry of Health announced measures to educate health citizens, to besiege the disease if it appears.

An Iraqi woman made sure to wear a muzzle while in a street in Baghdad (Anatolia)

A prominent source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior stated that there are efforts to determine the headquarters of the medical quarantine at the border crossings, in the event that those infected or those who carry the virus are found coming from outside the country, to deal with them in a way that preserves the Iraqis and addresses the coming cases.

While the authorities extended the ban on entry for travelers from China, Iran, and other countries, many schools and universities were suspended in many Iraqi cities.

Political humor
In the framework of dealing with the virus, the leader of the Salvation and Development Front, Osama al-Nujaifi, criticized in a comic way the reception of one of his aides, Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, with kisses, saying, "Did we agree that there are no kisses in light of the spread of the Corona virus?" Allawi met this with laughter.

العراق # Assigned Iraq Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi arrives at the headquarters of Osama Najafi, the most prominent presence in the Najafi house so far Mahmoud al-Mashhadani Abdul Karim Abtan Abdul Karim al-Samarrai Salman al-Jumaili Saleh al-Mutlaq Ahmad al-Masari Hamid al-Mutlaq. pic.twitter.com/QMavVrRc7I

- Maan Habib - Maan Habib (@MHabibAhi) February 26, 2020

A citizen in the city of Najaf (south of Baghdad) resorted to wearing a baby diaper instead of a muzzle, as a kind of protest against the rocket price hike in the masks in the market.

The price of one muzzle increased - according to this citizen - from two thousand dinars to more than seven thousand Iraqi dinars (six dollars).

The price of the protective mask was 😷😷 seven thousand Iraqi dinars, the brother from Najaf. Pardon him, use an unused nature diaper 😊 as a protective medical gag alternative. The people of Iraq always have their motto 👈🏼 (Damn the impossible) 💪🏼🦾 pic.twitter.com/9uPOWhqRds

- Balqees Al-Janabi (@ kaGXcmJwu93WoHr) February 25, 2020

As for the Iraqi economist Ghadeer Al-Attar, he called for sterilization of banknotes to prevent the transmission of the Corona virus.