Kurdistan, Iraq extend and expand curfew as coronavirus deaths climb
The moves came as the federal Health Ministry announced the latest statistics on the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19 and classified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
A ministry statement said that the number of people infected with the contagious disease has increased to 233, with 20 deaths and another 57 who have recovered. Most of the people sick with the virus across Iraq live in the highly populated capital, which has 94 cases.
The Kurdistan Region has 54 cases and one death. Sulaimani Province has the highest number of infections in the autonomous region with 43 cases.
Baghdad has decided to extend till March 28 a curfew it first imposed on March 17 and was due to expire a week later. The order now includes all parts of the country, but it was previously only effective in provinces affected by COVID-19.
Despite the order, however, hundreds of thousands of Shia Iraqi pilgrims on Saturday headed to the shrine of Shia Imam Musa al-Kadhim in Baghdad, where large amounts of food were served to marchers in an open buffet, as seen on videos posted on social media.
The government deployed security forces to the area and prevented worshippers from entering. Across several neighborhoods in Baghdad, police have cracked down on violators of the ban, arresting 306 people, seizing 127 vehicles, and issuing 4,132 fines, according to a statement from Baghdad Operations Command.
The Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry also announced an extension on Sunday, saying the ban on movement would continue until April 1. The region’s curfew initially only included Sulaimani and Erbil provinces, but it was then expanded to include all areas under KRG jurisdiction.
The region’s security forces have also logged curfew violators. On Saturday, police units surveyed a resort outside the city of Erbil and fined over a dozen drivers who had gone to the area to take part in picnics, a popular pastime. The teams asked citizens to strictly adhere to government safety guidelines and return to their homes.
