A sandstorm killed one person in Iraq on Thursday, while more than 5,000 people were treated in hospitals for respiratory illnesses, the health ministry reported.

In a statement, health ministry spokesperson Seif al-Badr said that “one death has been recorded in Baghdad” and that hospitals “had received no less than 5,000 cases so far,” adding that the majority had been released and that most cases were of “medium or low intensity.”