People wearing a protective face masks in Erbil following the coronavirus outbreak, Iraqi Kurdistan, March 2020. Photo: Rudaw
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Three new cases of coronavirus in Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan on Monday night, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced.
The newest cases are a four-year-old child who recently returned from Iran, a 27-year-old woman, and 45-year-old woman who is a relative of the mullah who passed away from the disease earlier this month.
In total, authorities cleared eight people on Monday to be released from hospital in Sulaimani after recovering from coronavirus infections.
The remaining patients in the governorate are in stable condition, said Sulaimani Health Director Sabah Hawrami.
Meanwhile, Erbil Health director Dlovan Muhammed said in a press conference that several patients are getting better and might be released in the coming days following additional tests.
So far, there have been 37 coronavirus cases in Iraqi Kurdistan Region. One patient has died and twelve have recovered.
Sulaimani and Erbil governorates are currently on a lockdown with residents urged to stay at home in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease.
KRG Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that it was extending the curfew imposed on Sulaimani and Erbil by a further 72 hours in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Kurdistan Region.
The curfew will lift at 12 a.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile the Khanaqin committee against coronavirus clarified on Monday that there were two suspected cases of coronavirus in the district and that samples have been sent to Baghdad for testing.
The results have not yet been confirmed.
Earlier, Garmian Health Director Sirwan Muhammad said that two new cases of coronavirus had been recorded in Khanaqin, which is under the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
Iraq and Kurdistan Region have officially closed its crossing points along the entire frontier with Iran, but authorities fear that people can still use smuggling routes and informal crossings to travel undetected.
About a third of the shared border is with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
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