Kurdistan school suspension nears end, as PM Barzani says virus still ‘a threat’
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An order that suspended schools across the Kurdistan Region is about to expire, with the regional parliament’s coronavirus response committee planning a meeting to assess the situation and issue a reopening proposal to the government’s virus task force.
Related Article: Kurdistan Region moves to online learning as daily COVID-19 infections spike
“During the meeting, we will prepare a report that includes our opinions and proposals on resuming the educational process,” Abdul Salam Dolamari, the head of the Education and Higher Education Committee in the Parliament of Kurdistan, told Kurdistan 24.
The body will meet Sunday—two days before the lockdown order is set to expire—and refer its report to the Supreme Committee to Combat Coronavirus, which is the relevant authority and has the final decision-making authority.
“We think it is best to keep schools closed until the beginning of next year because the coronavirus continues to pose a serious threat to people’s lives,” Dolamari stated.
On Saturday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani similarly warned in a tweet, “#COVID19 remains a threat and we must stay vigilant. Please wear masks and follow official guidelines. Only together we can continue to curb the number of new infections.”
New Cases
On Sunday, in their daily coronavirus update, officials from the regional health ministry announced 304 new infections over the previous 24 hours out of more than 4,380 tests that were completed in that period.
In contrast, 539 patients recovered across the region, according to health authorities, raising the number of recoverees to 60,165 cases.
It is important to note that a “recovery” only indicates that a patient is no longer being actively treated by health professionals—not that they have fully recovered from the disease.
The Kurdistan Region has seen a decrease in the number of new daily virus infections, after weeks of alarming surges in cases, reaching as high as 1,600 in a single day. To date, the region has seen 96,201 COVID-19 cases, per official figures.
Health authorities also announced 14 deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 3,132.
Officials have attributed the recent spike in the number of patients—at times over 1,000 new daily cases—primarily to the public’s failure to follow mandated health measures to stem the spread of the disease.
Editing by Khrush Najari