Kurdistan facilitates the return home of nearly 100 citizens stuck in India
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday facilitated the return of nearly 100 residents of the Kurdistan Region who had been stranded in India due to travel restrictions and other anti-coronavirus measures now in place.
The move comes after the Prime Minister of the autonomous region, Masrour Barzani, tasked his cabinet with assisting the return home of others in similar predicaments in various countries around the world, according to the statement released by the KRG Department of Foreign Relations (DFR).
It was accomplished with the help of Iraq’s Foreign Ministry and the KRG’s representative office in Baghdad, the statement added.
“These nationals, most of whom travelled to India for medical treatments and business, today safely returned to the Kurdistan Region and will undergo all the required medical checks and be quarantined,” said the DFR.
On Monday, over 300 students who had been stuck in Cyprus arrived home through Erbil International Airport, also after official intervention of the KRG.
Related Article: KRG evacuates 325 students from Cyprus amid COVID-19 crisis
Last week, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Agency (ICAA) announced the suspension of commercial flights to and from all Iraqi airports, including the Kurdistan Region, until April 11 to curb the spread of the highly-contagious disease.
According to the latest update by the KRG Ministry of Health, there are 204 confirmed cases of the deadly virus in areas under its jurisdiction, including two deaths and 61 patients who have recovered.
Worldwide, the coronavirus has infected over one million people and killed more than 55,000, 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 John J. Catherine