Five suspected cases of coronavirus variant found in Kurdistan Region: KRG health ministry

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Five suspected cases of a new coronavirus variant have been detected in the Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) health ministry announced on Saturday.

The five suspected variant cases were part of the 77 coronavirus infections recorded in the Kurdistan Region on Saturday, health ministry spokesperson Aso Hawezi told Rudaw English.

Additional testing to determine whether or not the suspected cases are of the coronavirus variant are underway, and results will be announced in a statement on Sunday, Hawezi said.

In a statement posted to Facebook, the spokesperson denied news that a lockdown would be imposed on the Kurdistan Region because of a recent rise in the number of coronavirus cases recorded across Iraq.

The spike in cases led Iraqi authorities to decide last week on a nighttime curfew, which began on Thursday. A few days after the announcement, Iraq’s health ministry announced that it had registered several cases of a new coronavirus variant for the first time – reportedly the variant that had first been detected in the United Kingdom.

Iraq also announced that it would be imposing a ban on wedding ceremonies, with violators to be punished with a five million dinar (approximately $3,420) fine. Iraqi Security Media Cell announced on Saturday that the fine had been imposed on someone who held a wedding ceremony in Baghdad.

Health officials in the Kurdistan Region have offered differing takes on whether regulations similar to those in the rest of Iraq will be imposed.

“I don’t think quarantine will be announced again in Sulaimani,” Sabah Hawrami, the head of Sulaimani’s health department said in a press conference on Saturday.

But the head of Erbil’s health department told Rudaw Radio’s Rebwar Ali that health guidelines to curb the spread of the virus need to be imposed more strictly.

“Due to the decrease of infections previously, people were adhering less to the guidelines – that’s why we need to double down on the guidelines,” health department head Dlovan Mohammed said.

“The data tells us the numbers are increasing, and the vaccine has not arrived yet. Even if it does arrive, medical teams and the elderly will receive it first, that’s why it’s important to be careful and adhere to the guidelines,” he added.

In December, Baghdad signed a deal with Pfizer for 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, of which the Kurdistan Region has a share. The vaccines are reportedly set to arrive by the end of this month.

According to the latest data from the KRG health ministry, 107,626 coronavirus cases, including 102,913 recoveries and 3,505 deaths, have been recorded in the Kurdistan Region since the beginning of the pandemic.

Neighboring Iran is beginning to limit travel to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region through the Parvizkhan border crossing because of the coronavirus, state-linked media has reported.

"Tourist movement has been suspended at the Parvizkhan border crossing, in light of a decision issued by Kermanshah province," Ali Tofiq, Parvizkhan border crossing supervisor told Rudaw’s Sarbaz Siyamand on Saturday.

Residents of Iran heading home through the border crossing will have to be tested for the virus, Tofiq said.

The decision to close the crossing is “due to health threats and the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus… in Iraq,” Tasnim News Agency reported, citing provincial health officials. The same restrictions will be applied at the Khosrawi, Shoshme, Sumar and Sheikh Sila border crossings, Tasnim later reported.

Exception can be made for truck drivers who undergo rapid testing, the health officials told the news outlet.

Updated at 11:06 pm