KRG’s Ministry of Health requests extension to curfew amid COVID-19 outbreak

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health on Wednesday requested the government to extend a curfew in both Erbil and Sulaimani governorates as the region handles the coronavirus outbreak.

Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Iraq on Feb. 27, the KRG has enacted various precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease in the region such as temporarily closing schools, declaring extended public holidays for government employees, and canceling all religious services and other public gatherings.

On March 13, the government took the mandatory restrictions to a higher level by announcing a 48-hour curfew in the provinces of Erbil and Sulaimani before extending it for an additional 72 hours early on Sunday.

On Wednesday morning, the KRG’s Ministry of Health said the curfew had a significant impact on curbing the outbreak of the coronavirus. As a result, it called for an extension of the curfew and asked citizens to continue to stay home.

The Kurdistan Region has also promptly circulated information on the virus and guidelines on best practices to prevent the outbreak of the disease, officially known as COVID-19.

According to the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Health, there are 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kurdistan, including one dead and nine fully recovered. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared it a global pandemic last week, the coronavirus has so far infected over 197,000 and killed nearly 8,000 worldwide since first appearing in China in late 2019.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany