Iraqi Kurdistan in dangerous phase of coronavirus outbreak: health minister
Dr. Saman Barzanji, Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister of Health, February 29, 2020. Photo: K24 TV.
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Iraqi Kurdistan Region is going through a dangerous phase of the coronavirus outbreak with transmission now occurring within the community, Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) health minister said on Saturday.
Minister Saman Barzinji said in a statement that residents needed to protect themselves from infection, saying that the risk of transmission remained high.
“We call on people to cooperate with us because all of you know how dangerous it will be if the virus gets out of control,” he said, adding that staying at home and following the government’s medical guidelines are national duties.
In order to continue to monitor the health of city residents, Sulaimani’s health directorate has begun testing and taking samples from employees at business that were allowed to remain open during the lockdown.
So far 48 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the Kurdistan Region, thirteen people have recovered from the disease, and one person has dies from it.
The entire Iraqi Kurdistan Region is currently on a five-day curfew in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
The KRG Ministry of Health said on Saturday that it has recorded a case of coronavirus in the Raparin administration, indicating a spread of the virus into rural parts of Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
The latest case was found when a 37-year-old in the Sangasar sub-district of Raparin tested positive. He is an employee at a local gas station and has not recently traveled abroad, suggesting that he was infected inside the Kurdistan Region.
So far forty-eight cases have been recorded in the Region. Thirteen people have recovered from COVID-19, which is the disease caused by the coronavirus, and one person has died from it.
KRG General Security Directorate said on Saturday that the director of security at the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Turkey has been removed from his post for violating medical instructions designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“After conducting an investigation, we found that Ibrahim Khalil Security Director Abdulwahab Muhammed Isa had visited Germany with official permission,” the directorate said in a statement.
“But, when he returned to Erbil Airport on March 14, he violated the KRG’s instructions against coronavirus and left the quarantine early. We decided to punish him by removing him from his post,” it added.
The directorate added that no one is above the law and that the government will prosecute anyone found to have broken public health regulations.
Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | nrttv.com
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