Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is looking into opening more hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients as the number of cases continues to rise.
Minister of Health Saman Barzinji visited Duhok province on Monday to discuss medical needs, new ways of providing treatment and opening more hospitals, the ministry said in a statement.
Most of the new cases are in Duhok, the statement added, saying that the Kurdistan Region has recorded its highest ever number of cases for the third time this month.
“Is more hospitals, oxygen, medications, and number of beds a solution? It’s not, because there are deaths, there is a loss of life,” Barzinji told Rudaw on Monday, noting that new regulations will be discussed on Tuesday.
The Region is seeing a third wave of infections as the more contagious Delta variant spreads across cities. On Sunday, it recorded 2,178 new cases, the highest since the pandemic began.
Health officials are urging people to stay home, adhere to safety measures and wear face masks.
If “we don’t reduce direct contact, a disaster is imminent,” health ministry spokesperson Aso Hawezy said last week.
The first case of the highly-contagious Delta variant was detected in the region mid-July. It is expected to become the dominant strain worldwide in the coming months.
The Kurdistan Region received over 50,000 Pfizer vaccines on Sunday night, Barzinji said on Monday.
Iraq has also reached record-high case numbers in recent days, announcing 9,147 new cases on Sunday afternoon.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment