Chavy Land, Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: NRT
HEWLÊR/SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) General Tourism Board issued a number of directives on Wednesday to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including the closure of all resorts, tourist sites and cafeterias in Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
The decision will be implemented from March 12 until April 1, it added.
“Sitting and eating in fast food restaurants will be suspended. Only prepared food will be allowed. Additionally, one- and two-star restaurants will be closed,” it added.
It is a part of a raft of strict measures taken by the government to prevent the local coronavirus outbreak from worsening.
Earlier on Wednesday, the KRG announced that it will restrict travel between the Kurdistan’s cities. The health directorate in Sulaimani urged people to stay at home and to follow government guidelines regarding hygiene and travel.
The KRG’s Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that three new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Erbil, bringing the Kurdish Region’s total to nineteen. One person has died of the disease so far, an elderly mullah in Sulaimani.
As part of its efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus, Sulaimani opened an awareness and advisory center on Thursday to provide residents with accurate information and access to services.
The new center is a joint project of the private sector and Sulaimani University and provides free medical services to people over the 122 telephone hotline and online. Both are available 24-hours a day.
Officials hope that the center will play an important role in encouraging people to care about their own health and that of their community and to follow medical guidelines and advice.
The center will also be able to assist people who suspect that they or their family members have become infected with coronavirus by providing them with proper steps to take and connecting them with vital health services if necessary.
Officials in Sulaimani issued an order on Thursday closing the city’s popular street cafes and tea houses, as well as barbershops and salons, as a preventative measure against the spread of coronavirus.
The order would effectively shut down the vibrant nighttime gathering places along Salim Street, including in Saholaka.
Some people had taken to social media in recent days to note that the crowds at the busy outdoor cafes there represented an opportunity for the disease to spread.
“The decision to close barbershops and salons is not because of a specific [industry], but it is for any place that creates overcrowded situations and gatherings,” Lashkr Hamid, head of Sulaimani’s municipal health committee, said during a press conference.
“These decisions are parts of the preventative measure against coronavirus in Sulaimani governorate,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir said that the government is calling on people not to visit graveyards for memorial services. He added that any tourist site where people gather will also be closed.
Private sector companies must temporarily reduce work time for their employees, he added.
The World Health Organization has declared the spread of coronavirus, formally known COVID-19, to be a pandemic. There are 126,000 coronavirus cases globally, including more than 4,600 confirmed fatalities, according to a Reuters tally.
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