Proof of vaccination mandatory for visitors to Erbil’s landmark hospital

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Health authorities in the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil announced on Monday that proof of vaccination is now mandatory for the visitors of the public Rizgari Hospital, one of the city’s busiest health centers. 

“Rizgari Hospital, like other public offices, have received instructions to ban people from entering the hospital without vaccination [proof],” read a statement from the directorate shared with Kurdistan 24.

The decision is the latest move by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to increase the number of vaccinations in the autonomous region. The KRG has already made it mandatory for its employees to receive the first two doses of vaccine against COVID-19 in light of rising infections. 

Upon receiving the first two doses of vaccination, residents of the Kurdistan Region can obtain a vaccination card that permits them to visit government offices and outside the region. 

More than a million people have received a dose of one of the vaccine brands – AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, and Sinopharm – while roughly 900,000 individuals have received both doses, according to official figures from the Kurdistan Region’s health ministry.

In response to rising infections, health experts authorized the administration of booster shots for those aged 18 and above. 

Nearly half a million infections have been recorded in the region since the pandemic began in early 2020. At least 7,000 people have died of complications of the virus.