Iraqi authorities recorded 82 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Thursday, according to the health ministry.

Twenty-eight cases were documented in Basra province, 17 cases in Baghdad, seven cases in Kirkuk, seven cases in Muthana, four cases in Babil, two cases in Misan, two cases in Dhi Qar, one case in Najaf,  and one case in Sulaimani, in addition to the 13 cases in Erbil reported by Rudaw English earlier on Thursday.

One death was recorded in Baghdad.

Twenty-nine people have recovered, including 18 in Baghdad, five in  Basra, two in Dhi Qar, two in Najaf, one in Karbala, and one in Erbil.

This brings the total number of cases in Iraq and the Kurdistan  Region to 2085. Of these, 93 have died and 1375 have recovered.

By Lawk Ghafuri

Eight new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Erbil province in the last few hours, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) health ministry, bringing Thursday’s total to 13. 

Three women and four children under the age of 12 tested positive for the virus in Erbil city’s Setaqan neighborhood. The eighth case is a 19-year-old man from Soran.

As of Thursday evening, 201 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Erbil province. Of these, 162 have recovered, according to the health ministry.

Officials have confirmed a total of 380 coronavirus cases in the Kurdistan Region, including 325 recoveries and five deaths.

The KRG’s interior ministry has extended the lockdown until May 1, but granted local governments the authority to ease curfew measures, leading to the reopening of most of businesses and the removal of most checkpoints inside and outside cities.

However, KRG health minister Saman Barzinji warned late week that the easing of lockdown measures does not mean the crisis has passed.

“The new measures are aimed at serving the public, and do not mean the disease is at an end. The COVID-19 threat is not over yet. We have to expect its spread at any moment, and we have to continue preventing and confronting corona[virus] and adhere to health instructions,” he said.

By Lawk Ghafuri

 

Around 150 health workers living in Erbil have been barred from returning to work in Kirkuk amid the coronavirus lockdown. 

They have urged the KRG to open the Erbil-Kirkuk road to allow them to return to work, or they will not be paid.

"Is there a single health worker in the Region who has not worked for 45 consecutive days?" Sazan Sardar, an employee of Pirde Health Center complained. 

"We need our salaries and have to go back to work," he told Rudaw.

"Nobody cares about us," Fuad Ahmed another angry health worker said.

Health workers should receive more respect due to their sacrifices during the war against the Islamic State (ISIS), Ahmed added.

"When there was a fight back then, we would treat any [Peshmerga] with our own blood. I have seen many health workers donating their blood to the wounded Peshmerga."

"But now the situation has changed. It is us fighting on the frontlines. Pay us the respect we paid you during [the ISIS war]," he added.

The Kirkuk Health Department had furloughed its health workers as they could not return to the province, but have now called on the KRG to help them get back to work. 

"Two months have passed. We are now dealing with administrative and legal issues. We need our health service members who live in Erbil back," Ziyad Khalaf,head of the Kirkuk Health Department told Rudaw.

"Through Rudaw, we are calling on the KRG to help facilitate traffic for our employees," Khalaf added, calling for "coordination" between Erbil and Kirkuk provincial authorities.

The stranded health workers have already reached out to the Erbil Province Operations Room asking for permits to commute between the two neighboring cities,but have not received a response.

"Unfortunately, Kirkuk does not fall within the KRG administration. Therefore, this problem must be resolved with Baghdad, and we are working to meet that end," said Hemin Qadir, spokesperson of the Erbil Province Operations Room.

Kirkuk has so far recorded 33 COVID-19 cases. Of this number, 26 have recovered and two have died. There are currently five active cases in the province.

The  KRG Ministry of Health announced five new COVID-19 cases in Erbil province on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the Kurdistan Region to 372.

"As part of continued tests and search for suspects, five new cases of Covid-19 were identified in Erbil province including a 49 year old man, a woman aged 23 and a 14 year old girl in Soran district," read a statement on Thursday morning.

"The fourth case is a 67 year old man from Simelan sub-district and the fifth one is an 18 year old boy from Erbil's Talar City neighborhood," the statement added.

Soran district and Simelan sub-district are located northeast of Erbil city.

"All the new cases have come into contact with infected individuals," the health ministry added.

The total number of cases across the Kurdistan Region now stands at 372, of which 324 have recovered and five have died. The Region as a whole has 43 active cases.

 

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The Kurdistan Regional Government advises anyone in the Kurdistan Region displaying coronavirus symptoms to call its emergency hotline on 122. This service is available in Kurdish and Arabic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. More information can be found on the government’s website.

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