ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Twenty-nine Erbil venues, mostly nightclubs, have been closed down for violating new coronavirus-related restrictions as the number of cases continues to skyrocket, the mayor said on Sunday.
“Some citizens are not adhering to implementing the measures, it forced us to be stricter… In the span of last three days, in Erbil and in Ainkawa, 29 places closed down that were not adhering to measures,” Nabaz Abdulhamid told Rudaw’s Dlnya Abdulrahman on Sunday.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced new restrictions on July 27, one of them being that staff at restaurants, cafes, malls, religious places, hotels, motels, small stores and bazaars must be vaccinated or provide a test no more than 72 hours old.
Any place that does not comply will be fined and closed down.
The Kurdistan Region’s health ministry last week called for a full or partial lockdown as the number of new coronavirus infections dramatically surged. More than 3,550 cases were recorded on July 26, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Abdulhamid added that the government should have announced a curfew as proposed by the health ministry, “but because of the financial situation and people’s jobs, that decision wasn’t made.”
The coronavirus crisis cell is supposed to meet again on Tuesday to review the current restrictions.
The Kurdistan Region is considered a medium-risk orange zone while Iraq is in the more severe red zone, but that could change with the Delta variant, which spreads faster and causes severe infections among young people and children. Health officials have warned of a devastating effect of the recent upsurge as hospitals and health centers witness overcrowding and an increase in critical cases.
As of last month, only nine percent of people in the Kurdistan Region had received the first dose of vaccine, and five percent had gotten the second dose, according to health minister Saman Barzinji.
“Some citizens are not adhering to implementing the measures, it forced us to be stricter… In the span of last three days, in Erbil and in Ainkawa, 29 places closed down that were not adhering to measures,” Nabaz Abdulhamid told Rudaw’s Dlnya Abdulrahman on Sunday.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced new restrictions on July 27, one of them being that staff at restaurants, cafes, malls, religious places, hotels, motels, small stores and bazaars must be vaccinated or provide a test no more than 72 hours old.
Any place that does not comply will be fined and closed down.
The Kurdistan Region’s health ministry last week called for a full or partial lockdown as the number of new coronavirus infections dramatically surged. More than 3,550 cases were recorded on July 26, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Abdulhamid added that the government should have announced a curfew as proposed by the health ministry, “but because of the financial situation and people’s jobs, that decision wasn’t made.”
The coronavirus crisis cell is supposed to meet again on Tuesday to review the current restrictions.
The Kurdistan Region is considered a medium-risk orange zone while Iraq is in the more severe red zone, but that could change with the Delta variant, which spreads faster and causes severe infections among young people and children. Health officials have warned of a devastating effect of the recent upsurge as hospitals and health centers witness overcrowding and an increase in critical cases.
As of last month, only nine percent of people in the Kurdistan Region had received the first dose of vaccine, and five percent had gotten the second dose, according to health minister Saman Barzinji.
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