Iraqi health officials on Friday warned of the new double-mutant variant of the coronavirus identified in India, saying the strain could reach Iraq.

"The strain of the coronavirus (identified) in India has higher transmissibility and its danger is greater than the strain in Britain, and it affects young people and children," Ruba Falah, head of the ministry's media office, said in a press release.

"The health authorities have not recorded any infection with the strain in Iraq so far, but everything is possible due to non-compliance with health prevention measures and the reluctance of citizens to take the vaccine, as well as travelling to the affected countries," Falah added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health reported 6,405 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours in Iraq, raising the total nationwide number to 1,065,199.

A statement by the ministry also reported 32 new deaths, bringing the death toll from COVID-19 to 15,465. The total recoveries in Iraq climbed to 942,046.

Over nine million tests have been conducted across the country since the COVID-19 outbreak in February 2020, with 46,000 done during the day.

Close to 10,000 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 351,680.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to curb the recent rise in coronavirus infections. The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm vaccine, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sputnik V jabs.