Kurdistan reports all-time high 104 new COVID-19 infections

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region's health ministry on Sunday announced 104 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours, the highest daily count since the virus first crossed into the region's borders.

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A ministry statement said that the new cases came after health workers carried out 1,718 tests across the region. The total number of tests conducted so far has reached 76,478, per official data.

The statement mentioned that "during the coronavirus testing process, 102 infections were recorded in Sulaimani province," and two others in Duhok province, which were of a 53-year-old man, and an 11-year-old girl.

Earlier in the evening, health authorities also announced another fatality due to the highly infectious disease. The deceased was a 75-year-old man from the district of Chamchamal in Sulaimani province, raising the total to seven deaths.

According to the health ministry's latest figures, there are a total of 710 confirmed cases in the Kurdistan Region, including seven deaths, and 420 recoveries.

Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barzinjy said on Sunday that "due to the high number of newly infected people with the novel virus, COVID-19, we will be obliged to use hotels instead of hospitals as treatment centers."

In a separate statement, health ministry spokesman Mohammed Qadir said, "the numbers of coronavirus infections in the Kurdistan Region were too high today," adding, "we currently have many critical cases that need respirators and are under intensive care in the hospitals."

"This wave is not stronger than the first, but as the virus began to spread in late February, we were able to diagnose the cases early," Qadir noted. "However, now no one comes in for examination until after symptoms appear."

Recently, the number of daily recorded infections has increased in the Kurdistan Region. The authorities eased lockdown restrictions in late April, as the number of cases approached zero and the shutdown was taking its toll on the economy.

Editing by Khrush Najari