BAGHDAD 

The number of confirmed cases in Iraq of the novel coronavirus has risen to 79, the Health Ministry said Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said the death toll from the virus had risen to eight.

Last week, Baghdad shut down schools and universities for 10 days and banned travel to virus-hit states as part of its fight against the disease.

In a related development, the government announced a decision to close all land borders with Iran and Kuwait as of March 16 to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Iraq also banned travel to and from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Bahrain, France and Spain apart from official and diplomatic delegations.

The coronavirus was first detected last December in Wuhan, China but has since spread to more than 105 countries.

The global death toll from the virus, officially known as COVID-19, is nearly 4,300 with more than 118,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization.