A health worker at a coronavirus center, Iraqi Kurdistan, June 2020. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw TV
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,—39 new cases of coronavirus recorded in Iraqi Kurdistan in the past 24-hour, the ministry of health of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement on Sunday.
According to the ministry 39 people in Erbil governorate were tested positive for covid-19.
The health Ministry also said that four patients have died in Sulaimani governorate from coronavirus, bringing the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s death toll to 24.
So far, and according to the KRG ministry of health there have been 1,222 cases of coronavirus in Iraqi Kurdistan. A total of 448 patients have recovered, and 24 people have died.
Kurdistan health minister Saman Barzanji has warned of a “humanitarian crisis” and a “health catastrophe” amid growing number of coronavirus cases in Iraqi Kurdistan, reiterating his call on the public to maintain social distancing and abide by other self-protective measures.
“The number of recoveries has disproportionately decreased compared to the before Eid time period as new cases surge,” health minister Saman Barzanji said.
“The situation is not under control,” Barzanji said. “The KRG’s resources to contain the spread of coronavirus are limited.”
“We can’t pin hope on ventilators, or dedicating more beds. This won’t confine coronavirus – only self-protection will,” Barzanji said.
“Only patients who have developed severe symptoms will be put in intensive care and hospitalised,” Barzinji said, adding that those infected but in good health will be placed where “we regularly check up on their health.”
In March 2020 the World Health Organization has declared the spread of coronavirus, formally known COVID-19, to be a pandemic. The statistics on Sunday evening showed that there are over 6,939,869 coronavirus cases globally, including more than 400,624 confirmed deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
(with files from rudaw.net)
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