Politics

Iraq declares 50 new COVID-19 cases, none in Kurdistan Region

The Iraqi Health Ministry announced 50 new coronavirus cases across the country on Friday, half the number of infections from a day earlier. A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) counterpart reported zero confirmed cases on the same day.

Khrush Najari 2020/05/16 03:25

middle east Iraq Kurdistan Erbil Baghdad COVID-19 Coronavirus

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Health Ministry announced 50 new coronavirus cases across the country on Friday, half the number of infections from a day earlier. A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) counterpart reported zero confirmed cases on the same day.

A federal ministry statement said 31 of the cases over the past 24 hours had been in Baghdad province, 13 in Basra, one in Maysan, and five in Sulaimani province. It should be noted that the numbers for the Iraqi side were included in the daily KRG coronavirus update statement on Thursday.

Two new deaths were also reported, as well as 61 recoveries. The total number of infections nationally is now at 3,193, out of which 117 have succumbed to the disease and 2,089 have recovered, the ministry detailed.

The number of Iraq’s active cases has witnessed a noticeable increase in recent weeks, with KRG officials expressing their concerns regarding the situation. This comes as the number of individuals still ill has seen an apparent decline across the Kurdistan Region.

The regional health ministry said Friday that no tests, out of a total of 1,157, came back as positive in the Kurdistan Region over the previous 24 hours. KRG health workers have conducted over 58 thousand coronavirus examinations since the disease first broke out, the ministry noted in a statement.

The Kurdistan Region has had 397 cases, five of them fatal. Thirteen infected persons remain under medical watch.

As the number of cases across the Kurdistan Region has fallen, KRG authorities have eased precautionary measures and allowed a conditional reopening of local businesses. Kurdistan 24 footage in the capital of Erbil showed busy streets near the historic citadel in the center of the city.

Downtown Erbil with busy streets as preventative measures are slowly eased amid falling active coronavirus cases across the Kurdistan Region. May 15, 2020. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

In late April, the main WHO office in Iraq applauded the success of the KRG's efforts to combat the disease. “I want to congratulate the Kurdistan Region on their achievement in fighting the coronavirus,” said an official from the organization. “The rate of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in the region is very low compared to other Iraqi governorates.”

Editing by John J. Catherine