COVID-19: After surge in cases, police cancel all prisoner visits in Kurdistan Region’s Raparin

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Raparin Police Directorate decided on Tuesday to halt all family visitation of those held in its detention facilities in an effort to curb a recent spike in new COVID-19 cases.

"We inform our dear citizens within the Raparin Administration that visiting inmates in the Arrest and Deportation Department is prohibited out of the public interest and with the aim of preventing the spread of the coronavirus."

The decision came as the rate of infections and deaths from the virus has risen to a dangerous level within the area over the past few days, to the extent that hospitals are unable to take in more patients.

The high number of infections and deaths have prompted health authorities in Raparin to transfer some of their patients to hospitals in Erbil and Sulaimani to ease the burden of local health workers.

Kurdistan Region Minister of Health Saman Barznji paid a visit to Raparin that day to assess the health situation following the surge.

The official told Kurdistan 24 that most of the current infections are "severe," noting that many must stay in hospitals for inpatient treatment.

The Director of Sulaimani Health, Sabah Hawrami, stated that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the people of Raparin, especially since most of the dead were under 35 years old.

The ministry also announced 1,154 new infections and 17 deaths due to the virus across the Kurdistan Region in the past 24 hours.

The new infections bring the total number of infections to 352,141, including 6,176 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the autonomous region of Iraq.