Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
Kurdistan
A medic checks the body temperature of a passenger as a preventive measure against the coronavirus upon her arrival by bus in Syria's Kurdish area from Iraqi Kurdistan via the Semalka border crossing in northeastern Syria on February 26, 2020. Photo: Delil Souleiman / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) criticized Baghdad officials on Wednesday, accusing them of failing to quickly quarantine Iraqis returning from Iran.
“This disease has gotten quite close to us. And we must be honest with our people, a large number of Iraqis or the majority who return to Iraq undergo some sort of testing and are sent back home. They never get quarantined,” KRG interior minister Rebar Ahmed told a press conference in Erbil.
“Unlike them, we have decided to quarantine our people who return from Iran and other countries that have also been gripped by the virus.”
Baghdad’s failure to properly manage border crossings is “making problem for us as well,” he said.
Ahmed reiterated the KRG has taken “maximum necessary measures” against the outbreak of coronavirus at border crossings and inside the Kurdistan Region itself.
“We will not tolerate a single negligence from any KRG official and the governors have been given authority to take necessary measures against any negligence,” Ahmed added.
The coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31 and has killed at least 2,770 people and infecting more than 81,288 worldwide.
Iraq’s health ministry confirmed its first case in the holy city of Najaf on Monday. Four more cases of the disease, all members of the same family in Kirkuk, were confirmed on Tuesday.
“We are urging our people not to visit Kirkuk and Najaf. They should also limit travel and traffic inside the Kurdistan Region, unless very necessary,” Ahmed said.
Iraqis currently in Iran must undergo a 14-day monitoring period after crossing the border before they are allowed to return home, and will also be checked in their homes by medical teams, according to an order issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the Environment.
Furthermore, Iraqis are not permitted to visit Iran unless they are part of a diplomatic delegation, and the federal government has suspended all Iraqi Airlines flights serving Najaf and Baghdad routes to Iran until further notice.
The KRG has also quarantined hundreds of people newly returned from Iran in two hotels in Soran, and has barred visitors from local hospital.
Dr. Fatah Hawrami, a general health practitioner who took part in a Rudaw panel discussion on Monday, urged the KRG’s Ministry of Health to take every necessary measure to contain the outbreak.
“On a high level, there must a very strong coordination with Baghdad,” Hawrami said. “Because we noticed cases like people are easily allowed to enter Iraq from some of their crossings while the KRG has taken serious measures.”
“Both sides must deal with the virus in the same way. There should not be any differences,” he said.
Dr. Saman Barzinji, the KRG’s health minister, told reporters: “In the course of the past 24 hours, 1,734 people have returned from Iran to the Kurdistan Region. All of them are being quarantined at 15 different locations.”
“So far, we have prepared 170 beds across the Kurdistan Region for any case if happens. We will increase the number if the number of suspects and patients go up,” he added.
“This disease has gotten quite close to us. And we must be honest with our people, a large number of Iraqis or the majority who return to Iraq undergo some sort of testing and are sent back home. They never get quarantined,” KRG interior minister Rebar Ahmed told a press conference in Erbil.
“Unlike them, we have decided to quarantine our people who return from Iran and other countries that have also been gripped by the virus.”
Baghdad’s failure to properly manage border crossings is “making problem for us as well,” he said.
Ahmed reiterated the KRG has taken “maximum necessary measures” against the outbreak of coronavirus at border crossings and inside the Kurdistan Region itself.
“We will not tolerate a single negligence from any KRG official and the governors have been given authority to take necessary measures against any negligence,” Ahmed added.
The coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31 and has killed at least 2,770 people and infecting more than 81,288 worldwide.
Iraq’s health ministry confirmed its first case in the holy city of Najaf on Monday. Four more cases of the disease, all members of the same family in Kirkuk, were confirmed on Tuesday.
“We are urging our people not to visit Kirkuk and Najaf. They should also limit travel and traffic inside the Kurdistan Region, unless very necessary,” Ahmed said.
Iraqis currently in Iran must undergo a 14-day monitoring period after crossing the border before they are allowed to return home, and will also be checked in their homes by medical teams, according to an order issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the Environment.
Furthermore, Iraqis are not permitted to visit Iran unless they are part of a diplomatic delegation, and the federal government has suspended all Iraqi Airlines flights serving Najaf and Baghdad routes to Iran until further notice.
The KRG has also quarantined hundreds of people newly returned from Iran in two hotels in Soran, and has barred visitors from local hospital.
Dr. Fatah Hawrami, a general health practitioner who took part in a Rudaw panel discussion on Monday, urged the KRG’s Ministry of Health to take every necessary measure to contain the outbreak.
“On a high level, there must a very strong coordination with Baghdad,” Hawrami said. “Because we noticed cases like people are easily allowed to enter Iraq from some of their crossings while the KRG has taken serious measures.”
“Both sides must deal with the virus in the same way. There should not be any differences,” he said.
Dr. Saman Barzinji, the KRG’s health minister, told reporters: “In the course of the past 24 hours, 1,734 people have returned from Iran to the Kurdistan Region. All of them are being quarantined at 15 different locations.”
“So far, we have prepared 170 beds across the Kurdistan Region for any case if happens. We will increase the number if the number of suspects and patients go up,” he added.
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