Medical teams stationed at Iraqi airports amid coronavirus outbreak: statement
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi authorities announced on Sunday the start of medical screening at all airports to check arrivals from China for coronavirus infections.
This comes at a time when the National Health Commission of China said that the ability to transmit the coronavirus is getting stronger and that the number of infections may continue to rise.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement that medical teams have begun examining travelers returning from China to prevent the virus from spreading to the country.
On Thursday, authorities at Baghdad International Airport conducted a medical examination for several travelers who came from Chinese airports to verify that they were not infected with the virus.
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The CAA said a specialized medical team is permanently present at all civil airports, to examine travelers from China and Southeast Asia to ensure they are not infected with the coronavirus.
“Any traveler will be isolated if they show symptoms of the disease,” the statement said.
According to Chinese media, the number of deaths due to the coronavirus in the country rose to 56, and it recorded 1,975 cases of the virus that appeared in the central province of Hubei that spread to other regions.
Cases were also recorded in Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, France, and others. As the virus has spread, health authorities around the world are working to contain it to prevent a potential pandemic.
On Friday, the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Health said it is taking “all necessary measures” to prevent the deadly virus from spreading within the autonomous region.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany