KRG resumes regular work hours, reports about 500 new COVID-19 cases

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday decided that all governmental institutions will return to their regular working hours, ending a measure that has been in effect for over five months to limit the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.

KRG spokesman Jotyar Adel said in a statement that, starting Sunday, work hours will begin at eight in the morning and end at three in the afternoon. He added that the decision was made "in the interest of the public," who want to finish their work in government institutions.

Jotyar also noted that employees must adhere to all coronavirus preventive measures and procedures during official working hours.

500 New COVID-19 Cases

The announcement came after the regional Ministry of Health said it had recorded just over 500 new coronavirus infections and 13 deaths due to the disease over the past 24 hours.

A ministry statement said that health workers had conducted 4,100 tests over the same period, 504 of which came back positive: 201 in Erbil province, 122 in Sulaimani, 171 in Duhok, and ten in Halabja.

The statement also mentioned 492 patients had recovered, and 13 had passed away due to the disease. Of the new fatalities: three were in Erbil, nine in Sulaimani, and one in Duhok.

It is important to note that a patient classified as "recovered" means only that they are no longer actively treated by health professionals, not that they have fully recovered.

According to the ministry, the number of coronavirus infections across the region reached 31,636, including 20,193 recoveries, and 1,186 deaths.

Starting mid-March, the KRG has enacted multiple, strict, precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease. They include temporarily closing schools; declaring an extended public holiday for government employees, and then reducing work hours; canceling all religious services, and other public gatherings.

In recent months, however, the KRG has eased strict measures by allowing the reopening of places of worship, malls, and local markets.

In a bid to mitigate further spread of the coronavirus as a new academic year approaches in the region, the KRG recently decided to hold classes online for the first half of the 2020-2021 academic year.

Read More: COVID-19: Kurdistan Region records over 590 new cases, 25 deaths

Editing by Khrush Najari