Iraqi Kurdistan records two new cases of coronavirus: ministry
People wearing a protective face masks in downtown Erbil following the coronavirus outbreak, Iraqi Kurdistan, March 7, 2020. Photo: Rudaw
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,—A new case of coronavirus has been recorded in Koya in Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister of Health Saman Barzinji said on Tuesday.
According to the Barzinji, the patient is a 64-year-old man and is a relative of one of the previous patients.
The Ministry said on Wednesday that a new case of the coronavirus has been recorded in Erbil, bringing the Region’s total to 17.
“The man was a student same as the other patient in Erbil and was in quarantine,” the ministry said in a statement.
This is the third case of the virus to be recorded in Kurdistan Region in the past 24-hours. A nineteen-year-old woman was diagnosed with the virus in Sulaimani earlier on Tuesday.
“The man is from Koya and is a relative of the 25-year-old patient that tested positive for the virus on Monday,” Barzinji said in a press conference.
“In the past 24-hours, we have tested 154 people and now 953 people are still in quarantine,” Barzinji added.
Concerning suggestions that the government should restrict traffic between the Region’s cities, the minister said that the government had “not made any decisions yet and, if we do, we will contact the related ministries.”
The two cases of Tuesday bring the total cases of the coronavirus in Kurdistan Region up to 16, including one death.
The Erbil General Health Directorate on Tuesday decided to suspend indefinitely all plastic surgeries at private hospitals.
In a directive sent to all private hospitals, the governorate’s health directorate ordered the the suspension as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Any hospital or clinic that does not follow the directive will be punished,” the directive said.
The health directorate also decided to build an intensive care unit (ICU) in every private hospital in the city in anticipation for a rise in the coronavirus cases.
Iraqi Kurdistan has conducted a list of precautionary measures, including shutting down salons, beauty parlors, and bars that offer alcohol, starting last Sunday. The authorities have requested citizens and all sides to abide by the health ministry’s regulations.
Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | nrttv.com
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