PHOTOS: Erbil launches citywide anti-coronavirus spray campaign

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil began a campaign to spray disinfectant in markets and other public locations across the city as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus.

Erbil Governor Firsat Sofi also urged the management of malls and other privately-owned areas where the public gathers to initiate similar procedures, asking shopkeepers to sterilize their properties nightly. 

As the number of cases has increased in Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has added extra steps to its growing list of precautionary measures aimed at curbing the disease from spreading further, including shutting down all women’s salons, beauty centers, bars that offer alcohol, starting Sunday until April 1. Authorities have also decided to close children’s entertainment areas in all public parks and cancel all religious gatherings until further notice.

Read More: Kurdistan Region cancels Friday prayers after Iraq's first coronavirus death

Abdul-Wahid Ahmed, head of Erbil municipality requested “cooperation and coordination from the shop-keepers as their teams will operate during day and night time.”

This is considered the latest measure by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), aimed to prevent the spread of the virus in the public locations, particularly market places.       

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international health emergency. COVID-19, as it is officially called, has spread to over 80 countries, including China – where it originated – the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Russia, Singapore, and India.

According to the most recent WHO figures, there are over 105,918 confirmed cases of coronavirus all around the world, over 80,000 of which are in mainland China. So far, over 3,500 people have died the virus. 

Editing by John J. Catherine