Kurdistan Parliament resumes its sessions after self-quarantine

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Parliament on Monday resumed its regular sessions after a two-week-long quarantine in place to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus after a member of parliament, along with a number of staff, contracted the virus.

In its first session, the Kurdistan Parliament will have two topics on its agenda: “voting on the resolution on [extending the deadline for MPs to submit] proposals for bills and resolutions,” and a discussion on “extending the current Spring Session of the second year,” per the Kurdistan Parliament’s website.

In early June, the parliament suspended its sessions following “some” of its staff members and a member of parliament contracting the coronavirus.

1/2 - Important announcement from Presidency of @KurdistanParl : After a Parliament staff member fell ill with #coronavirus , the Presidency arranged tests by KRG Health authorities for 197 MPs & staff on 9 June. The result is that some have tested positive for #Covid_19 - 1/2 pic.twitter.com/aNSyZiu1nT

— Kurdistan Parliament (@KurdistanParl) June 10, 2020

The session comes as health authorities in the Kurdistan Region repeatedly warn of a “catastrophe” as the number of infections surge in the region daily. The capital city of Erbil, which houses the Kurdistan Parliament, announced a six-day long lockdown in the province to mitigate further spread.

On Sunday, the Kurdistan Region’s health ministry reported a new high in the number of deaths due to coronavirus-related complications as well as new daily infections.

Read More: COVID-19: Kurdistan reports all-time highs for daily deaths and infections

The coronavirus has infected over 10 million people worldwide and killed over 502,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities and underreporting.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany