Kurdistan has spent over $14 million fighting COVID-19: Official

“As of today, more than 17 billion Iraqi dinars has been spent [in Kurdistan Region] to combat the coronavirus.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has spent the equivalent of over $14 million to combat the spread of the new coronavirus disease, a senior KRG official said on Sunday.

“As of today, more than 17 billion Iraqi dinars has been spent [in Kurdistan Region] to combat the coronavirus,” said Dindar Zebari, KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, during a press conference in Erbil.

He explained that the KRG had funded "most" of the anti-coronavirus spending, while a portion of it had been provided by the Iraqi government and international sources.

The COVID-19 pandemic has grounded nearly all flights around the world, stranding many expatriates in different countries. As part of its fight against the virus, KRG facilitated the repatriation of citizens stranded abroad.

According to Zebari, more than 600 citizens of the Kurdistan Region have been repatriated from different countries such as Saudi Arabia, India, Jordan, Germany, and the UK.

Read More: Kurdistan brings home another 133 students stranded in Armenia since COVID-19 outbreaks began                                                                                                  

Many countries around the world gave furlough to eligible or low-risk inmates from prisons to reduce crowdedness and the risk of the disease spreading in such facilities.

Zebari pointed out that the Kurdistan Region has released nearly 1,652 detainees and prisoners from its correctional facilities as one of the KRG’s preventive measures against COVID-19.

Read More: Kurdistan releases 826 more detainees as part of anti-coronavirus efforts

The number of cases KRG authorities have confirmed so far stands at 345, including four deaths and 320 recoveries. Over the past four days, the region has reported seven new coronavirus infections. This came after five days of no new cases.

Editing by Kosar Nawzad