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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Protests ignited in Sulaimani province on Monday as local business owners demanded the end of coronavirus-related closures just hours after new lockdown was imposed.
Protests against the lockdown took place in the Sulaimani districts of Darbandikhan, Ranya and Qaladze on Monday night, with locals desperate to reopen their businesses after months of closures.
Ranya Mayor Hiwa Qarani said the protesters are "angry because of the lockdown and closure of their shops and markets."
"Such measures have been taken for their own safety," Qarani said. "We will be dealing with the situation per the health status of people in the region."
"We are in Raniya. We will neither commit to the lockdown, nor close our shops. Who are you to tell us what to do?" Hawre M Azeez wrote on Rudaw Sorani's Facebook page on Monday.
According to footage submitted to Rudaw by a protester in Darbandikhan, the demonstration took place in front of the local municipality building.
"Great job the people of Darbandikhan! I am calling people from all parts of Kurdistan to take to the streets and stand against the oppression that working-class people have endured at the hands of this government," wrote Ardalan Salar from Erbil.
The KRG's interior ministry imposed a full six-day lockdown on Monday, following the confirmation of over 100 cases of COVID-19 across the Kurdistan Region - the highest single-day total it has ever recorded. According to the decree, all non-emergency travel is prohibited, exempting only media, medical teams and security forces.
Although the rate of infection seemed to slow in recent weeks, officials have warned that the local health system is not ready to cope with a serious outbreak of the virus.
Authorities have resorted to using "hotels instead of hospitals" to treat patients, KRG health minister Dr. Saman Barzanji said on Sunday.
As a result of the limited beds available, patients with mild coronavirus symptoms will not be hospitalized, according to local officials.
“In Sulaimani, we have the ability to provide intensive care for 250 people, but if the number rises we will not be able to receive more patients,” said Shamal Jabar Yawar, Director of the Peshmerga Health Agency.
There are about 200 ventilators in the Kurdistan Region: 70 in Sulaymaniyah, 100 in Erbil, 15 in Duhok, 7 in Halabja and two in Garmiyan.
Ranya police spokesperson Shorsh Ismael said that they would "take legal measures against anyone acting against the lockdown measures."
"We know the people as they are from the area. We will apprehend them and warn them not to do it again,” Ismael said.
The Kurdistan Region has recorded 729 cases of the virus, with 420 recoveries and eight deaths to date. Sulaimani looks likely to continue bearing the brunt of the outbreak, with 229 of the Kurdistan Region's 302 active cases located in the province.
Additional reporting by Horvan Rafaat
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