Iraq reassures of preventative measures against Coronavirus at its ports

Screening measures are in place at the ports “without creating unnecessary obstacles to international traffic routes, and international trade.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s Ministry of Health released a statement on Saturday to reassure citizens that it has taken precautionary and preventive measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus against ships coming through its port in Basra.

“Cargo ships coming to Iraqi ports in Basra governorate are dealt with in accordance to international health regulations set by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006 to prevent the spread of epidemic on an international level,” a Health Ministry statement explained.

It added that screening measures are in place at the ports “without creating unnecessary obstacles to international traffic routes, and international trade.”

The Health Ministry said the health directorate in Iraq’s southern Basra province “took preventive and precautionary actions” toward a ship that was carrying loads from China which docked at the Umm Qasr Port.

“We assure the people that its crew, its starting point, its path, and its passage has been checked at the international ports, within a timely manner,” the statement noted.

“The goods were dealt with according to what the international health regulations specified by their fumigation with the substances that kill viruses and bacteria and by the approved methods in such conditions to prevent any danger resulting from any bacterial contamination knowing that these goods do not contain any food.”

The statement comes after Jamal al-Hamdawy, a representative of Basra’s council, warned of a possible “epidemic disaster” of coronavirus in Iraq’s Umm Qasr port after the cargo ship from China arrived without proper screening.

According to Al-Hamdawy, some countries are denying ships from China to dock at their ports all together because of fears the virus would spread to their lands. The Iraqi official also claimed that “the ship entered the port of Umm Qasr without the slightest checks or sanitization operations.”

He urged the Health Ministry to establish proper health and medical teams at the port to conduct adequate tests and checkups on the Chinese crew and those coming from China to prevent the spread of the virus whether it is through people or the goods the ships carry from China. 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany