KRG extends curfew by 72 hours as authorities report more coronavirus cases

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday issued a 72-hour extension on a curfew order in Erbil and Sulaimani provinces that was due to expire midnight Sunday.

This comes as the Health Ministry reported on Sunday five more coronavirus infections in Sulaimani Province, totaling 34 cases across the Kurdistan Region.

The curfew began at midnight on Friday and would continue till midnight Wednesday, March 18, Kurdistan interior minister Rebar Ahmed said during a press conference on Sunday.

Ahmed reiterated that inter and intra-provincial travel in both Erbil and Sulaimani would also be prohibited for the same period.

Read More: KRG imposes curfews, orders quarantine of those returning from abroad as infections continue

In an online “Situation Report,” the KRG said that it had directed the governors of Erbil and Sulaimani “to reorganize the supply mechanism of people’s needs” while abiding by the curfew order.

The KRG affirmed that the final deadline for people’s return to the Kurdistan Region from Iran is midnight of Monday, March 16, 2020, “beyond which all crossing points will be closed to travelers except for trade at the following designated border crossings: Parwezkhan, Haji Omran, Ibrahim Khalil, and Bashmakh.”

The KRG has previously stated that anyone who has recently returned “illegally” to the Kurdistan Region from Iran “must immediately report to the medical teams” for appropriate health checkups. “Failing to do so will lead to mandatory quarantine and prosecution under the law for the intentional spread of the virus and illegal border crossing.”

The Iran warning comes as the country has been the epicenter of the outbreak in the Middle East, with Tehran having reported close to 14,000 infections and over 700 deaths. Reports indicate that those numbers are much higher amid allegations that Iranian authorities are underreporting cases.     

The disease, officially known as COVID-19 and recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic, has infected over 167,000 and killed nearly 6,500 worldwide since first appearing in China in late 2019. 

Editing by Kosar Nawzad