SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — Coronavirus survivors in Sulaimani have said they continue to face stigma from family, friends and wider society despite having fully recovered from the illness.

Khali Atta, a fruit merchant, sells melons, watermelons and pomegranates from the back of his truck. He quarantined at home after contracting COVID-19, but says family and friends are still staying away.

“People consider corona as a disgusting illness. People avoid you,” he told Rudaw.

Shopkeeper Chro Rostan also had the virus, and has seen business drop since she returned to work.

“Before I was infected with corona, I used to have six to seven customers on a daily basis. Since people learnt that I had contracted the virus, the number of my customers has dropped. They do not come to me. People avoid me. They tell me ‘do not come near me’and they distance themselves from me.”

Sulaimani is the regional epicenter of the virus, and currently has more than 4,000 active cases, although few remain in hospital.

Local health officials have said there should not be a stigma surrounding survivors.

“Corona should not be viewed as a big social stigma. Those who get infected do not have any power over it or give the virus permission to spread… the safest people are those who contracted corona and have recovered,” said Herish Saed Salim, the deputy head of Sulaimani’s health department.

Reporting by Arkan Ali

Rudaw