Kurdistan's Erbil orders new measures as COVID-19 deaths mount

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Erbil Province Operations Room said it ordered tightened measures on Friday due to "increased deaths from COVID-19" and members of the public not adhering to restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the highly contagious disease.

The Kurdistan Region health ministry said earlier in the day that seven people in Erbil had died due to COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, raising the province's total reported fatalities to 1,287. There are reportedly close to 10,000 confirmed active cases of the disease in Erbil, about 700 of which were recorded Friday.

In total, the Kurdistan Region has recorded just over 230,000 COVID-19 cases, including under 199,000 recoveries, and 4,770 deaths. Health authorities have been recording an increasingly higher number of infections, as testing for the virus ramps up.

The Erbil Province Operations Room described the situation as "dangerous" in a statement and affirmed the risks of cases becoming more widespread are increasing due to the Delta variant.

To limit the spread of the disease, the security body again warned the public in Erbil province against holding funerals, which are suspected to be superspreader events. Violators will be fined, the operations room said in a statement.

It also announced a ban on hospital visitations by relatives and friends of COVID-19 patients. The body said large crowding at healthcare facilities has caused even more infections, adding that those who do not adhere to the new rules will be prosecuted.

The statement also noted that all security forces in the province have been ordered to implement the new measures.

Kurdistan Region health authorities have intensified calls on the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the much more infectious Delta variant continues to spread in the region. A Chinese official said Friday that the region would soon receive 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.