COVID-19: Kurdistan’s Duhok province records highest new daily cases yet

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Health officials in Erbil announced on Friday that the recent spike of new coronavirus cases throughout the autonomous Kurdistan Region remained at roughly 1,000 per day, with Duhok province breaking its record with over 400 new infections.

According to the regional health ministry’s daily statement, health workers conducted 6,786 tests over the past day, raising the total number given to 687,472 since the first outbreak of the disease in the Kurdistan Region in early March.

Of the tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the ministry recorded 997 infections, raising the total number of cases so far to 82,605.

Read More: COVID-19: Kurdistan Region records over 1,000 daily cases in 24 hours

Authorities also announced 33 deaths, bringing overall fatalities to 2,616.

They also said that over 51,000 people have recovered from the highly contagious disease, but it is important to note that “recovery” indicates only that a patient is no longer being actively treated by health professionals, not that they have fully recovered from the disease. Increasingly, medical experts recognize that some of the more serious COVID-19 symptoms, such as significant lung damage, could be permanent.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers on Monday convened to discuss current measures taken to stem the spread of the coronavirus, as the number of active cases continues to soar. During the session, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani directed the relevant ministries to apply “all necessary measures to protect citizens from infections, particularly inside the KRG offices,” read a statement.

Health Minister Saman Barzinjy also explained recent trends in infection rates and his strategy to combat them, while Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed presented a detailed report on the government’s measures that addressed challenges faced by law enforcement.

New KRG decisions on health restrictions include is a suspension of most on-campus schooling, with students instead transitioning to online-based education.

Related Article: Kurdistan Region moves to online learning as daily infections spike

“State and private schools for first, second, and twelfth graders will close until Dec. 1, after which there will be a review of health conditions,” read a decree from the coronavirus committee, composed of the Kurdistan Region’s ministries of health, interior, education, and higher education.

Editing by John J. Catherine