In-person classes remain halted across Kurdistan Region as new COVID-19 variant looms: KRG
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In-person classes will remain halted until Jan. 16 across the academic institutions in the Kurdistan Region as a new variant of COVID-19 is emerging, a government spokesperson announced on Thursday, stating that previous orders would remain in practice until new measures are taken.
In early November 2020, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced that it would halt in-class studies for a month due to an infection spike among teaching staff and students across the region.
Classes were expected to resume in early December, but the COVID-19 task force decided to extend that suspension until the infection rate reaches a controllable state.
Read More: COVID-19: Kurdistan Region moves to online learning as daily infections spike
In-person schooling in the “first, second, and 12th grades will be halted until Jan. 16,” a statement from KRG Spokesperson Jotiar Adil read on Thursday, noting that the government would “assess the health situation.”
While much of the schooling, from third grade through to 11th grade, will continue online, the decision affects colleges and universities differently, with some going on with a partial physical and online learning system, according to the spokesperson.
“Universities and institutes will shift their focus to online classes in the ‘blended learning’ system for humanities studies. Departments that require laboratory work will continue to hold classes on campus,” he added.
“Schools in villages or remote areas with limited internet access and a limited number of students will be shut down for all grades.”
In late September, the Kurdistan Region rang the bell to start the new 2020-21 academic school year.
Read More: Kurdistan Region applies distance learning for first half of new academic year
On Wednesday, the Minister of Health in the autonomous Kurdistan Region advised residents to avoid traveling abroad, for fear of infection with the mutated coronavirus strain.
In an interview with Kurdistan 24, Minister Saman Barzinji said, “If it is not an absolute necessity, do not travel outside the country, or those who are abroad, especially in Britain, to stay away from traveling.”
Read More: COVID-19: KRG calls on public to avoid travel abroad, for those in UK to be wary of new strain
The Kurdistan Region has so far seen over 104,000 cases since the advent of the pandemic in early March 2020, from which more than 3,400 succumbed to death, according to figures published by the health officials.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany