Ezidi leader calls on community to celebrate New Year at home

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The leader of the Yezidi (Ezidi) religious minority Hazim Tahseen Beg on Monday called on members of his community in the Kurdistan Region to suspend public ceremonies celebrating the upcoming Ezidi New Year.

The leader's plea comes just two days head of the Ezidi New Year, also termed Charshamba Sor (Red Wednesday), and amid the ongoing coronavirus global pandemic.

Every year, Ezidis from the Kurdistan Region and other parts of Iraq gather in Lalish, in Duhok province, to prepare for the New Year. They celebrate Red Wednesday on the first Wednesday on or after April 14.

Tahseen Beg called on members of the minority group to instead "stay at... and hold small ceremonies inside their homes," a statement from his office said.

He also urged Ezidis to "abide by the instructions and regulations of the Kurdistan Regional Government's [(KRG)] Health Ministry to curb the coronavirus outbreak in the region."

The Health Ministry on Monday announced that it had not recorded any new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours. The total number of cases currently stands at 330, including four deaths and 167 recoveries.

Read More: KRG reports no new COVID-19 cases, affirms disease still a threat

The KRG has enacted several precautionary measures to contain the virus starting from mid-March, including a region-wide curfew, which is valid until April 16th.

Officially referred to as COVID-19, Chinese authorities first reported the highly contagious disease in late 2019.

As it continues to spread in over 180 countries worldwide, the disease has infected over 1.9 million people and killed almost 120,000, 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 Kosar Nawzad