A general view of a nearly empty Baghdad downtown to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday. AP

On an abandoned sidewalk in Baghdad, under strict government curfew to contain the novel coronavirus, a handful of volunteers with masks and gloves make food packages for needy families.

"What we're doing is a humanitarian duty towards society, and anyone who can afford it should do the same," said Abu Hashim, an Iraqi businessman in his fifties packing non-perishable goods outside a lonely storefront in the Iraqi capital's east.

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The health ministry says COVID-19 has killed 56 Iraqis and infected more than 800 others. But many suspect the real numbers to be much higher, as only a few thousand people from a population of 40 million have been tested.

A masked woman walks during a curfew to help fight the spread of the coronavirus in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday. AP

In a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, authorities have imposed a countrywide lockdown, ordering schools and most shops shut.

While the government is still paying salaries and pensions to millions, Iraq's modest private-sector economy has come to a grinding halt overnight.

Iraq is OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, but is ranked among the 20 most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. The World Bank says one in five Iraqis lives under the poverty line.

Sensing that relying on authorities would be unwise, young activists, community figures and local religious leaders have come together to try to support those with no income.

Using donations to buy essentials, like lentils, beans, rice and sugar, they pack supplies in plastic bags, talk their way through checkpoints and distribute them across the city.