COVID-19: Kurdistan Region records over 590 new cases, 25 deaths

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Health announced that it had recorded close to 600 new coronavirus cases and 25 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that health workers had conducted 5,144 tests across the region over the past 24 hours, with 597 returning positive. Of the total, 273 of the cases were in Duhok province, 160 in Erbil, 110 in Sulaimani, and 27 in Halabja.

The statement added that 25 patients had died during the same period: 16 in Sulaimani, six in Erbil, and three in Duhok.

As of today, the ministry has reported 31,132 cases across the Kurdistan Region. Of these, 1,173 patients have died, 10,258 are still under treatment, and 19,701 have recovered, according to official figures.

It is important to note that a patient classified as a "recovery" means only that a patient is no longer actively treated by health professionals, not that they have fully recovered.

The Kurdistan Region has recently witnessed surges in coronavirus cases following the easing of restrictions previously imposed to stem the spread of the virus and the reopening of borders with Iran for trade.

Health officials have warned of even higher numbers on multiple occasions if the public fails to adhere to precautionary measures mandated or suggested by authorities.

In a bid to mitigate further spread of COVID-19 as a new academic year approaches in the region, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decided to hold classes online for the first half of the 2020-2021 academic year.

Read More: Kurdistan Region applies distance learning for first half of new academic year

The coronavirus has infected over 26 million people worldwide and killed more than 864,000, according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by Khrush Najari