COVID-19: KRG announces 267 new infections and 172 recoveries

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Sunday, the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Health announced 267 new coronavirus infections and 12 deaths due to complications related to the disease in the past 24 hours.

The ministry's statement reported that it had conducted 2,426 tests, during which it had diagnosed 267 new infections: 31 in Erbil, 227 in Sulaimani, two Duhok, and seven in Halabja. There were also reportedly 172 recoveries from the disease.

The virus has infected 7,315 people across the region, of which 2,692 have recovered, and 252 have passed away, the ministry added. There are also currently a total of 4,371 active cases, according to official data.

The governor of Erbil, Firsat Sofi, announced on Saturday that the provincial government was lifting a curfew that came into effect a week ago and replacing it with a partial lockdown measure.

Read More: KRG announces 204 new COVID-19 cases; Erbil imposes partial curfew

In Sulaimani province, authorities decided on Friday that a shutdown of government institutions--excluding the security, health, and service sectors--will remain in effect until July 10, due to the high number of new infections in the province.

Earlier on Sunday, the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate announced that over 80 journalists across the Kurdistan Region have so far contracted the coronavirus.

The disease was first reported by Chinese authorities in late 2019 and has since spread in over 180 countries worldwide. To date, it has infected over 11.4 million people and killed more than 535,000, according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting, particularly in countries that have weak health systems.

Editing by Khrush Najari