KRG’s health minister announces 22 new COVID-19 cases in Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health on Monday announced eight new cases of the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, in the Kurdistan Region, and 22 cases in the past 24 hours.

A health ministry statement announced that five of the new cases are from Erbil’s Khalifan sub-district. They include a man, woman, and three children who are relatives of an individual who recently returned from Britain and was diagnosed with coronavirus.

The statement added that the other three infected are from Dohuk who had returned from France recently and were being held in quarantine in Erbil.

Kirmanj Izaat, the mayor of Soran district, told Kurdistan 24 that the Khalifan sub-district would be placed under quarantine after five new cases were confirmed of people who interacted with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19.  

On Sunday, the KRG’s Ministry of Health confirmed 14 new cases of coronavirus in Sulaimani governorate, eight women and six men.

The ministry said in a statement that five of the infected were from Sulaimani’s Penjween, Sakis, and Sitak towns who had all previously traveled. Two of the patients from Sulaimani city center and the other seven from the city of Darbandikhan had interacted with infected individuals, the ministry added.

This brings the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region to 150, including two deaths and 55 who made full recoveries.

The highly contagious disease was first reported by Chinese authorities in late 2019. As it continues to spread worldwide, it has infected over 680,000 people and killed more than 32,000.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany