Number of COVID-19 cases reaches 176 in Kurdistan Region; Iraq's total now 703
A ministry statement said that over the past 24 hours, health authorities had carried out 548 tests on individuals suspected to have the coronavirus. 349 of the examinations were on people in Erbil province, 123 in Sulaimani province, and 76 in Duhok province.
“The results of the examinations showed 14 new cases of the virus, with six confirmed in Erbil, five in Sulaimani, and three in Duhok,” the statement noted.
The ministry added that the total number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in the Kurdistan Region had reached 176, including two deaths, and 61 persons who have recovered.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barznji revealed statistics the ministry had obtained regarding how the highly-contagious disease was spreading.
Out of the total, he said, 79 percent of those infected "caught the virus as a result of not abiding by the health regulations, as they have interacted with infected individuals.”
Barznji urged the public to stay home and follow the instructions issued by the health ministry to avoid the further spread of the disease, officially referred to as COVID-19.
As part of ongoing measures to contain the virus, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued on Tuesday a ten-day extension to a curfew in effect in all the provinces and local administrations in the autonomous region.
The Iraqi government has taken similar steps, but some major religious gatherings still took place despite the risks and as COVID-19 was spreading. Iraqi Health Minister Jaafer Allawi announced on Tuesday that the curfew is to be extended across Iraqi until April 19.
"The Iraqi crisis cell decided to extend the curfew and continue the suspension of governmental institutions until April 19th," Allawi said.
According to an Iraqi Health Ministry statement, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, has reached 703, among them 50 have died and 170 have recovered.
