Coronavirus deaths now total 4 in Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) health official has announced the fourth fatality so far caused by the coronavirus in the autonomous region of Iraq.

Dr. Sabah Hawrami, head of the Sulaimani Health Directorate, said in a press conference late on Friday that a 65-year-old woman passed away due to complications from the disease caused by the virus known as COVID-19.

As is the case with many of the fatalities caused by the disease around the world, the woman had a prior history of illness.

According to the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Health, there are a total of 325 confirmed cases of coronavirus in areas under its jurisdiction. With the fourth death and 145 patients that have recovered, there are 176 active cases remaining. 

So far, a total of 16,352 people have been tested for the virus in the Kurdistan Region, with 16,027 showing negative results.

The KRG has enacted several precautionary measures to contain the virus.
The regional Interior Ministry announced on Friday that it was adding another extension to the regionwide curfew now in place to limit the chance for contagion. If not extended additional times, it will now last at least until April 16. 

Read more: Kurdistan extends region-wide curfew until April 16 

On late Thursday, the KRG confirmed nine new cases of coronavirus in the Erbil province, adding that seven of them had participated in the now-infamous two funeral gatherings in Erbil city's Karizan neighborhood that has resulted in dozens of infections. 

Related Article: Kurdistan health teams use targeted coronavirus testing as funeral outbreak spreads 

According to a statement by the federal Iraqi Health Ministry in Baghdad, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, has reached 1,279. Among them, said the ministry, 70 have died and 550 are said to have recovered but some reports have suggested that Baghdad is intentionally underreporting the number of infections. 

In neighboring Iran, where multiple reports have claimed the same on a larger scale, the national health ministry announced that the pandemic has so far resulted in a total of 4,232 deaths.

The highly-contagious disease has infected over 1.7 million people worldwide and killed over 107,000, according to the latest government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by John J. Catherine