ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday over 350 new cases of the coronavirus, 12 deaths, and categorized 138 patients as having recovered over the previous 24 hours.

The health ministry mentioned in its daily statement that it had carried out 2,762 tests in the past 24 hours. According to the most recent government information, 357 of those tests came back positive: 218 in Erbil province, 83 in Duhok, 56 in Sulaimani, and none in Halabja.

The total number of individuals infected with the virus since its outbreak in the region has reached 15,173, including 586 deaths and 5,036 patients currently receiving medical care.

On Tuesday evening, the ministry urged those who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate their blood plasma to help save others now in serious condition.

“One of the treatment lines for patients with the COVID-19 virus is taking blood plasma of infected people after they have recovered from the virus,” the health ministry’s statement read, calling on them to visit plasma donation clinics exactly 28 days after their infection had been confirmed.

At the same time, the Erbil Operations Room charged with managing the provincial response to combat the pandemic issued a decision that allowed the reopening of clinics and other medical facilities that had been previously closed, but that they must follow strict health regulations.

“Regarding clinics, medical centers, and complexes within the borders of Erbil province and because of the health situation and the needs of people, the Operations Room has decided in consultation with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior to reopen them.”

The coronavirus has infected more than 18.4 million people worldwide and killed nearly 700,000 according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by John J. Catherine