UN envoy commends Kurdistan Region health authorities for ‘job well done’ against COVID-19
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, commended health authorities in the Kurdistan Region on Monday for “doing a good job” in combating COVID-19 so far.
The UN special envoy’s remarks come as the Kurdistan Region witnesses the lowest infections rate over the past 10 days compared to its previous spikes in early March. Iraqi Health Minister Jaafar Sadiq Allawi had also previously praised health authorities in Kurdistan for managing the crisis “very well.”
Read More: Kurdistan Region, Iraq contain COVID-19 very well: Iraqi Health Minister
“I am also here to commend [health] authorities for a job well done until now,” Hennis-Plasschaert told reporters. She added that authorities throughout Iraq and, “in particular, in the Kurdistan Region, did a very good job.”
The special envoy also mentioned that “no government can do it alone,” referring to the fight against COVID-19 as a “fight of each individual to practice physical distancing.”
“COVID-19 is ongoing…it’s not behind us, unfortunately,” she warned, calling on people to “be alert.”
In the press conference, KRG Health Minister Saman Barzinji recalled the past medical aid and assistance from both the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Kurdistan Region. The health minister revealed that the UN and WHO “pledged” to continue their assistance.
According to the latest tally by the KRG, 347 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region, with 320 patients recovering from the virus and four deaths.
The Kurdistan Region initiated a series of preventive measures in early February to slow down the spread of COVID-19 in the region through closures of educational institutions, places of worship, and markets. Such measures put a financial burden on the region but slowed down the infections rate significantly.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany