Erbil tightens COVID-19 precautionary measures as virus surges

A mask-clad elderly man walks by a graphite concrete wall in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, July 7, 2021. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)
A mask-clad elderly man walks by a graphite concrete wall in the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil, July 7, 2021. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – As COVID-19 infections continue to surge across all the Kurdistan Region’s provinces, the capital will crack down on enforcement of health measures in a bid to stem the increasing infection rate.

A statement released on Wednesday by the Erbil Operation Room, a COVID-19 task force in the Kurdish capital, said the restrictions would be tightly enforced due to the recent increase in cases in the province.

Police and Zeravani under the interior ministry’s control and observers from the mayor’s office will be deployed in public spaces to monitor the enforcement of COVID-19 measures, particularly mask-wearing, according to the statement. Failure to observe the measures such mask wearing will result in legal action, it said.

Previously, the capital’s authorities could levy a 20,000 IQD fine (around $15) for anyone not wearing a face covering, which are believed to greatly reduce the virus’s transmission, particularly if practiced along with social distancing and hand hygiene.

Anyone wishing to file government paperwork at public offices will have to adhere to health measures. Dining and entertainment will remain open but have to strictly enforce measures or face a fine or closure, the task force said.

In the previous 24 hours, the health ministry recorded over 3,400 infections across the Kurdish provinces, mostly driven by the quick spread of the Delta variant. In Erbil alone, more than 1,400 infections were recorded in the same period.

Although Erbil has the highest vaccination rate in the Kurdistan Region, it still faces high numbers of COVID-19 cases.

A director of one of the capital’s hospitals recently told Kurdistan 24 that half the patients in intensive care are young adults, indicating the severity of the outbreak.