No lockdown for Eid al-Fitr in Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — There will be no full coronavirus lockdown over the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Erbil, Sulaimani, or Duhok provinces.  

In Erbil, crowds and gatherings are not allowed in public places, but traffic will be permitted as normal, the province's Operations Room decided on Friday in a meeting with Governor Omed Khoshnaw. 

“Eid prayers in mosques in Erbil province are allowed,” the operations room announced in a statement.

In Sulaimani, “There will not be a lockdown but everyone should adhere to the health and preventative measures. We will issue guidelines,” Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir told Rudaw English on Friday.

Duhok also will not impose a full lockdown.

Halabja's leadership will meet on Sunday to make a decision.

The Ministry of Interior had earlier announced there would be a three-day lockdown and stay-at-home order over the Eid al-Fitr holiday in mid-May, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

On Friday, the ministry said the provincial governments could make the decision on “implementing a complete or partial lockdown, according to the health situation.”
 
Travel between Erbil and southern Iraqi provinces will remain restricted on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with roads closed to all but diplomatic missions and cargo trucks.

The Kurdistan Region saw a second wave of coronavirus infections that spiked after the Newroz holiday in mid-March. A partial lockdown was imposed on the Kurdistan Region early April to curb spread of the virus. The overnight curfew was lifted in less than a week, with other measures remaining in force such as fines for not wearing a mask.

Daily new infections topped 1,000 for most of April, but numbers have started to decrease over the past week. On Thursday, the Kurdistan Region’s health recorded 592 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total of registered cases to 154,951.

Iraq will impose a 10-day lockdown, from May 12 to 22. Iraq has recorded a total of 1,098,187 coronavirus cases and 15,673 deaths.

 

Updated at 2:20 pm