For Iraqi mothers-to-be, hospitals are pandemic no-go zonesAn Iraqi volunteer works on building a 525-bed field hospital at a Baghdad exhibition centre in June to help fight the coronavirus outbreakKUT (IRAQ) - Iraqi midwife Umm Mariam used to help bring three babies into the world per day. Last year, she could have gone to a public hospital and paid a small, symbolic fee for the delivery. One of the nine public hospitals in Wasit province, where Kut is located, has been transformed into a coronavirus treatment ward. Hospitals are also facing a shortage of oxygen tanks for those severely affected by COVID-19's attack on the lungs. Still, they insist, going it alone is a better choice than catching COVID-19 in a dilapidated public hospital.

Source: Bangkok Post August 02, 2020 02:26 UTC