COVID-19 cases rise in Kurdistan Region, while Iraq extends curfew

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced 14 new coronavirus cases in Erbil.

A health ministry statement said the infected included nine women, four men, and a child from over six neighborhoods in Erbil city center.

All of them were infected due to interaction with sick patients at one of two funeral gatherings that recently took place in the Karizan neighborhood in Erbil city, it added.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health tested large numbers of people from 11 residential areas in Erbil in an attempt to stop a breakout of the coronavirus that appears to have been caused by mourners breaking curfew to gather at two funerals in roughly the same area.

According to the latest update by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health, there are 303 confirmed cases of the deadly virus in areas under its jurisdiction, including three deaths.

Furthermore, the Iraqi High Committee for Health and Safety, set up by the Iraqi government to combat the coronavirus, announced on late Tuesday the extension of a curfew until April 18. The original lockdown was until April 11.

The statement said the committee would provide financial support to families affected by the imposed curfew, as well as facilitate the return of Iraqis stranded abroad and provide quarantine for them.

The statement added that the lockdown extension is to limit the outbreak of the coronavirus. According to the Iraqi ministry, 65 individuals died in Iraq from a total of 1,122 confirmed cases, while 373 made full recoveries.

Officially referred to as COVID-19, the highly contagious disease was first reported by Chinese authorities in late 2019.

As it continues to spread in over 180 countries worldwide, the disease has infected nearly 1.4 million people and killed almost 83,000, according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting, particularly in countries that have weak health systems.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany