COVID-19: Nearly 600 new cases in Kurdistan; Duhok surpasses other provinces

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Health Ministry announced nearly 600 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday along with 24 deaths over the previous 24 hours.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Health Ministry announced nearly 600 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday along with 24 deaths over the previous 24 hours.

In a statement, the ministry said that health workers had conducted 5,350 tests across the autonomous region in that time period, with 591 returning positive. Of the total, the highest figures were in Duhok province, which recorded 259. Erbil province recorded 194 cases, Sulaimani had 87, and Halabja had 23.

The statement noted that 24 patients had died during the same period: eight in Erbil, eight in Duhok, and three in Sulaimani, one in Halabja.

The ministry has reported 34,821 cases across the Kurdistan Region since the pandemic began. Of these, 1,289 people have died, 11,515 remain under treatment at hospitals or clinics, and 22,017 are listed as having recovered.

It is important to note that a patient classified as a “recovery” means they are no longer being actively treated by health professionals, not that they have fully recovered. Increasingly, medical experts are recognizing that some COVID-19 symptoms such as chronic fatigue often continue for long after an individual’s formal recovery and that various other symptoms including significant lung damage could be permanent.

Lately, the Kurdistan Region has witnessed new surges in coronavirus cases across its provinces, particularly in Duhok and Erbil, which consistently enjoyed fewer daily infections in past months.

Once the least impacted province, Duhok now records high daily infections. The province’s governor recently said that “around 90 percent” of the responsibility lies with the residents to protect themselves from infections by wearing face masks and reducing physical interactions as much as possible.

Editing by John J. Catherine