Kurdistan Teachers Union: 20 percent of current COVID-19 infections are students and teachers

Mustafa Shilani 2021/03/11 09:13

Public and private schools from first to 11th grade are closed until March 24, 2021. (Photo: Archive)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Teachers Union revealed on Wednesday the reason for the closure of schools in the Kurdistan Region until after the upcoming Newroz holiday at the end of the month.

In an effort to stem the current rising tide of COVID-19 infections, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had earlier announced the suspension of in-person classes at all primary and secondary schools other than for students in grade 12 until March 24.

The head of the Kurdistan Teachers Union, Ahmed Saber, said in a statement late Wednesday that "the decision to close schools in all parts of the Region included from the first grade to the 11th grade, and the reason is the increase in the number of infections among teachers and students."

Saber added, "20 percent of the infections currently recorded are for teachers and students, and this percentage is considered high, which raised the concerns of the high committee to combat the coronavirus in Kurdistan that it will escalate further."

Regarding students in their last year of school, Saber said they will continue in-person classes because of their baccalaureate tests at the end of the school year.

The Kurdistan Region on Wednesday recorded 335 new coronavirus cases as the rate of daily infections increases with the UK variant, which is believed to spread more rapidly than the original strain.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 118.6 million people worldwide and killed near 2.6 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s database. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly