COVID-19: Following rise in cases, Kurdistan Region closes schools until after Newroz

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In an effort to stem the current rising tide of coronavirus infections, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday announced the suspension of in-person classes at all primary and secondary school classes other than for students in grade 12 until after the upcoming holiday of Newroz in late March.

The announcement came after the autonomous region's High Committee to Combat Coronavirus met on Wednesday to assess the immediate health situation as a result of the global pandemic.

Following the meeting, KRG Spokesperson Jutyar Adil said in a press conference that all public and private school students from the first to eleventh grades will stay home starting on Thursday and lasting until March 24, when this year's relatively-muted celebrations of the Kurdish New Year are complete.

Adil pointed out that this decision was made based on a recent health ministry assessment which demonstrated an increase in coronavirus infections that could again reach a critical phase.

Earlier that day, KRG health officials announced 335 new infections and four deaths over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 111,516, over 3,500 of them fatal, since the region's first confirmed case last year.

Universities and other higher education institutes will not be affected by the decision at this time, he explained, but they could be closed as well if the situation does not improve, as was the case one year ago.

Read More: Kurdistan closes schools, universities as fears of coronavirus outbreak grow

Adil also stressed the necessity of wearing masks, social distancing, and additional health precautions such as banning hookah smoking in cafes.

"Every citizen who comes from outside the region must have a coronavirus examination valid for 72 hours before entering," he added, warning tourism companies that they would be black-listed for any violations of coronavirus-related government restrictions.

On the possibility of imposing a press curfew, Adil said, "Until this moment there are no decisions in this regard, but before the Newroz holiday, there will be another meeting and at that time we will discuss the matter based on the epidemiological situation."

The coronavirus has infected nearly 118 million people worldwide and killed over 2.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University’s database. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by John J. Catherine