COVID-19: Kurdistan Region records highest daily infections since start of pandemic

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Health Ministry announced the highest daily COVID-19 infections of over 1,500 cases, a record-breaking figure since the pandemic hit the region in early March.

The ministry’s daily statement said health workers had conducted 7,054 tests during the past 24 hours, raising the total of such tests to 621,205 since the outbreak began in the Kurdistan Region in early March.

Out of the tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the region recorded 1,597 infections. According to figures released by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the total number of infections has reached 71,752 cases.

Tuesday’s figures are the highest the regional health authorities have recorded.  

The ministry also recorded 24 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the total death count to 2,261 fatalities.

Health officials say that over 40,000 have recovered from the highly contagious disease, but it is important to note that the classification of “recovery” indicates that a patient is no longer being actively treated by health professionals, not that they have fully recovered.

Increasingly, medical experts recognize that COVID-19 symptoms, some of them serious, often continue long after an individual’s formal recovery and that various other symptoms such as significant lung damage could be permanent.

Erbil mandates mask-wearing

Local authorities in Erbil province announced on Monday that anyone who does not wear a mask would be charged with a fine, according to a statement from the Erbil governorate.

The fee, according to authorities, is IQD 20,000 ($14) that would be enforced by local police officers.

The spiking figures in the region and its capital have forced authorities to tighten measures to curb the further spread of the virus.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany