Iraq Airways suspends flights with Iran, bans border crossing amid coronavirus fears
Iraqi airways plane, 2019. Photo: Creative Commons/Kevin Hackert/Flickr
BAGHDAD,—Iraqi Airways has suspended flight service to neighbouring Iran as a protective measure against the coronavirus outbreak, the Iraqi state news agency said on Thursday.
Iraq also banned border crossings by Iranian nationals for three days from Thursday amid fears of the coronavirus, the news agency said on Thursday.
On Thursday, Iraq’s health minister Jaafar Sadeq Allawi said he has also allotted a budget to help contain the virus.
His ministry “will take necessary actions at airports, border crossings, and sea [ports] across Iraq and we have dedicated institutions to deal with suspected cases, if any,” Allawi said.
Two Iranians who tested positive on Wednesday for the disease have died of respiratory illness, while three others tested positive on Thursday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in Iran to five, the Iranian health ministry said.
Iraqis currently in Iran must undergo a 14-day monitoring period before they are allowed to return home. Iraqis are also not permitted to visit Iran unless they are part of a diplomatic delegation.
The outbreak originated in China and has killed more than 2,100 people there. New research suggesting the virus is more contagious than previously thought has added to the international alarm over the outbreak.
Millions of Iranians come to Iraq every year to visit the Shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala. Such pilgrimages could bring the virus to Iraq if precautions are not taken.
Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have responded with new measures to prevent the transmission of the virus from Iran.
Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has assigned a budget to help prevent an outbreak in Kurdistan Region.
“We will provide all material and moral support to protect the health of the people of the Kurdistan Region,” KRG spokesperson Jutyar Adil told local reporters on Thursday.
The KRG will launch a campaign next week, which will include the public distribution of leaflets explaining signs and symptoms and how to prevent transmission.
“We will begin next week and it will continue until the World Health Organization returns its status to normal,” Chiman Taha, head of KRG’s protection and health directorate, told Rudaw.
Three medical centres have been opened in Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok provinces to assess possible cases of the virus.
Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | Reuters | rudaw.net
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