Israel braced for its first fatalities as the number of coronavirus cases spiked by 25% on Wednesday while Iraqis in Baghdad hunkered down as a week-long government-imposed curfew took effect and Iran pressed on with its struggle to control the Mideast's worst outbreak.

Israel's health ministry said 90 more people had tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the country's overall number to 427, a day after authorities issued a new series of guidelines that put Israelis in near-shutdown mode.

There have been no fatalities so far but with 15 patients in moderate to serious conditions and the number of those infected exponentially rising in recent days, authorities have taken severe measures to stem the spread, warning of catastrophic consequences and thousands of deaths if people don't follow instructions.

“We have seen what is happening in other countries that did not take these steps. Thousands around the world have already died. As prime minister, I must tell you the truth. To my joy, we have not lost anyone. However, this will not continue,” a severe-looking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Tuesday in his daily address to the nation. “This is a huge crisis. We are only at the start of the campaign.”

The new coronavirus has spread to more than 100 countries, infected more than 195,000 people worldwide and killed more than 7,800. For most people, it causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

Fearing outbreaks like those that have ravaged Italy, Iran and other nations, Israel has taken extreme measures. The government has called for most citizens to work from home, maintain a strict distance from others and only leave their homes under crucial circumstances, such as for medical needs or stocking up on food and medicine. The Defense Ministry has deployed near-empty hotel facilities, ravaged by the crash in tourism, as recovery centers for patients diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

Most controversially, the government has instructed the shadowy Shin Bet internal security service to start deploying the agency's phone surveillance technology to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Israel, a move that sparked widespread criticism from lawmakers and civil rights groups.

Tens of thousands of Israelis are in home quarantine, including two Cabinet ministers and two other lawmakers who have came in contact with an infected local politician. Police have begun making arrests of those violating a ban on public gatherings larger than 10. A large drive-thru facility has also been erected in Tel Aviv to increase testing capabilities.

"The number will rise no matter what we do," Israel Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov said Tuesday night.“ We might soon have hundreds of newly infected people per day, and people may start dying from this, maybe in the next few days .... we know we could have hundreds of people dying from the disease, maybe even thousands.”

The Palestinians have reported 44 cases in the West Bank, most from an outbreak in Bethlehem.

Story Credit ; US News/Associated Press