Politics

COVID-19: Kurdistan reports highest death toll in the past 24 hours

The health ministry reported over 530 new coronavirus cases along with 21 deaths, a new record number of daily fatalities due to the disease.

Halgurd Sherwani 2020/08/16 11:52

kurdistan KRG Kurdistan COVID-19 Pandemic Death toll

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Sunday, the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Health announced over 530 new coronavirus cases along with a record-breaking 21 fatalities due to the disease in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said in a statement that health workers had conducted 3,321 tests over the same period, 537 of which returned positive. Of the new cases, 297 were in Erbil province, 134 in Duhok province, 51 Sulaimani recorded, and 29 in Halabja province.

The ministry also announced a new all-time high number of fatalities in a single day, with 21 deaths, raising the total amount to 753.

According to official data, the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic has reached 21,197, including 11,496 recoveries. The ministry has also conducted 248,293 tests for the virus.

The Kurdistan Region has recently seen a surge in coronavirus infections across its provinces, particularly in the capital, Erbil. The situation is similar across Iraq, which broke its daily cases record for a fourth consecutive day on Sunday.

Previously, Sulaimani province, which neighbors Iran—the epicenter of the pandemic in the Middle East and from where the virus spread to many regional states—had the highest daily number of infections. Recently, however, it has seen a decline in infections.

The lack of adherence to precautionary measures by the Kurdistan Region's citizens is the reason behind the recent surges in COVID-19 cases across the region, per the health officials.

The number of coronavirus cases in the Kurdistan Region continues to surge, following an initial increase in late May, as the government relaxed lockdown measures—amid growing financial difficulties—and allowed for the resumption of trade with Iran.

On Sunday, the autonomous region's Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC) announced it will train 210 volunteers to aid in the fight against the coronavirus.

Editing by Khrush Najari