Kurdistan Region’s health authorities confirmed 120 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths on Monday, mostly from Sulaimani province. 

Sulaimani province, the epicenter of the virus in the Kurdistan Region, recorded 73 new cases and two deaths.

Erbil province recorded 44 cases and Halabja province confirmed two cases while Duhok province confirmed only one case, according to statements from the Ministry of Health. 

Ten coronavirus patients recovered in Erbil, according to the province’s health directorate. 

The new data brings the total number of cases in the Kurdistan Region to 1,433. Of this, 542 have recovered and 28 have died. 

By Karwan Faidhi Dri 

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Iran on Monday urged its citizens to wear masks in public as it announced another 70 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 2,043 new cases of COVID-19.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the latest figures took the overall toll to 8,351 dead out of a total of 173,832 people infected.

"Everybody must wear masks when attending places like stores or any other place where it is not possible to observe social distancing carefully," he said on state television.

Since announcing its first cases in the Shiite holy city of Qom in February, Iran has struggled to contain what quickly became the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the COVID-19 illness.

The Islamic republic said on Sunday that a recent upsurge in cases was due to increased testing rather than a worsening outbreak.

There has been skepticism at home and abroad about Iran's official figures, with concerns the real toll could be much higher.

Rising infection figures since a low in early May and lax observance of social distancing have worried authorities, which have reiterated calls for strict adherence to health protocols.

"The majority of provinces are in a stable situation," Jahanpour said on Monday.

He said the southwestern province of "Khuzestan is still red" - the highest level on the country's colour-coded risk scale.

Eight other provinces were "on alert", he said.

"The provinces at risk should be more serious and cautious," Jahanpour said, calling on people to avoid unnecessary travel.

Reporting by AFP

 

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Iraq has recorded 1,115 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, including in the Kurdistan Region. 

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, 386 people have recovered from the virus and 24 have died in the same period.

Baghdad is particularly hard-hit, with 535 new cases, followed by Wasit with 107.

The total number of COVID-19 cases across Iraq now stands at 13,481.

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Health authorities announced Monday the death of another elderly COVID-19 patient in Sulaimani province.

According to a statement from the Sulaimani’s health department, the latest coronavirus-related death in the province is a 75-year-old man who died after contracting the COVID-19 in Sayid Sadiq town.

The patient was quarantined in a hospital prior to his death.

“He had other chronic diseases and his health was deteriorating day by day, but he lost his life due to the effects of the coronavirus,” Herish Sayid Salim, deputy head of Sulaimani health department told Rudaw on Monday.

Sulaimani province has recorded the highest number of cases and deaths in the Kurdistan region since March 1.

So far, the province has recorded 810 cases, of which 23 have died and 167 cases have recovered.

This brings the total number of cases in the Kurdistan Region to 1,324, of which 27 people have died from virus-related complications, and 458 others have recovered.

By Lawk Ghafuri
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Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities have recorded 12 new COVID-19 cases in the Garmiyan administration, according to the health ministry.

The cases are concentrated in a singular extended family, with nine men, two women and a teenager all contracting the virus from a relative.

This brings the total number of cases in the Kurdistan Region to 1,324, of which 24 people have died from virus-related complications, and 458 others have recovered.

By Lawk Ghafuri Continue Reading

COVID-19 has rapidly spread in the Kurdistan Region over the last month, with cases increasing by 63 percent since May 14.

Regional authorities had recorded under 500 cases until Eid al-Fitr holiday on May 23, when cases began to spike, recording more than 800 cases and 21 deaths in just over two weeks

The KRG attempted to implement a six day lockdown after dramatic new numbers began coming in. However, the intra-province movement restrictions were lifted two days into the lockdown, after local business owners broke into protests in the Sulaimani districts of Darbandikhan, Ranya and Qaladze, saying the measures were harming their already-faltering businesses.

According to data obtained from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), at least 1,324 people have been infected with COVID-19 since March 1. Of this number, 26 people lost their lives and 458 recovered and returned home. However, the number of active cases in medical facilities is on the rise.

Of the 828 active coronavirus cases in the hospitals in the Kurdistan Region, 140 are in Erbil, 609 in Sulaimani, 76 in Duhok, and three in Halabja province.

By Lawk Ghafuri
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