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Kurdistan
Downtown Erbil emptied of shoppers amid the coronavirus-related lockdown. File photo: Bilind T.Abdullah/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A limited number of businesses will be allowed to open on the second day of the Eid ul-Fitr holiday, according to a new set of regulations announced by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
A complete lockdown will be in place from midnight on Sunday, the first day of Eid, in which no businesses and public or private places will be allowed to open, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.
On Monday, bakeries will be allowed to reopen from 6am to 12pm. Fruit and vegetable stands will also be permitted to resume business, as well as farmers harvesting and transporting crops, and companies dealing with “maintenance work.”
Shoppers must maintain social distancing of 1.5 to two meters, the statement added.
Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed said they have no plans to extend the curfew beyond Eid, adding that previous lockdown measures have been “successful.”
The Kurdistan Region began implementing measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in late February, escalating into partial and complete lockdowns in March.
Lockdown measures were gradually lifted as rates of infection slowed, allowing shops, mosques and churches to reopen their doors and non-essential traffic to resume.
However, a 72-hour lockdown over Eid was announced by the KRG last week amid a recent uptick in infections.
The Region has reported a total of 467 cases.
Five new cases were reported in Duhok on Saturday.
Travel between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq will be completely banned from May 20 until June 1, while all border crossings and airports will be shut until June 1. An online system that allows people to apply for permission to travel between Kurdistan Region provinces will be shut down from 3 pm on May 22 until 8 am on May 27.
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