Kurdistan's Erbil turns more facilities into treatment centers for COVID-19 patients

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The authorities in the Kurdistan Region's Erbil on Sunday announced that it will turn the Rizgari public hospital into a treatment center for people infected with the new coronavirus.

"Erbil's Rizgari hospital has been prepared to receive COVID-19 patients," said Dlovan Mohammed, Director General of Erbil Health Directorate. He noted that the facility has a 400-bed capacity.

Mohammed added that the health authorities are working to repurpose other buildings and private healthcare facilities to hold the infected.

He explained that the move comes as part of contingency plans to prevent hospitals from being overrun with ill people in the event the number of cases grows too large.

Mohammed also said that the Erbil International Fair venue is also being turned into a center for receiving and treating COVID-19 patients.

On Sunday, the Kurdistan Region's Health Ministry announced 18 new cases of the new coronavirus disease just in the city of Erbil, all of whom participated in a funeral gathering in a neighborhood in the city.

Furthermore, the Health Ministry announced three new confirmed coronavirus cases in Sulaimani province. This has raised the total number of reported infections to 235 in the Kurdistan Region. 87 patients have recovered and three succumbed to the disease.

Editing by Kosar Nawzad