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Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. Photo: Masrour Barzani's official Facebook page
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Amid a surge of new coronavirus cases, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Region issued a strongly worded statement Friday morning accusing "some sides" of “politicizing" the government's health instructions to bring the pandemic under control.
Without naming specific actors, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused people of depicting measures to contain COVID-19 as “dispensable,” which he says puts “people in danger just to serve their political objectives."
"Those who acted against the health instructions and encouraged people to not commit to the instructions must carry the responsibility for posing danger to the health of the people," stated Barzani, urging them to "stop playing with the lives of people."
Describing the pandemic as "very serious," the premier warned that the public’s decreasing commitment to the government’s health instructions has led to the disease "swiftly spreading."
"Unfortunately, there has recently been very little commitment to the [health] instructions," Barzani added.
Although a total lockdown has been lifted across the Region, authorities have continuously urged the public to adhere to the health regulations and take the pandemic seriously.
The Kurdistan Region began implementing measures to curb the spread of the virus 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 run through the Region's roads.
But with cases of the virus reemerging in large numbers day after day since the beginning of May, the KRG imposed a full, 72-hour lockdown across the Kurdistan Region on the three days of Eid al-Fitr.
The KRG over the weekend renewed a ban on travel between provinces in the Kurdistan Region until June 16, according to the latest order issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases across the Kurdistan Region now stands at 566, of which 409 have recovered and five have died. The Region as a whole has 152 active cases.
"I am once again, calling my citizen sisters and brothers to adhere to the health regulations and maintain their health and those of their relatives," Barzani added. "Your safety matters the most to us."
Without naming specific actors, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused people of depicting measures to contain COVID-19 as “dispensable,” which he says puts “people in danger just to serve their political objectives."
"Those who acted against the health instructions and encouraged people to not commit to the instructions must carry the responsibility for posing danger to the health of the people," stated Barzani, urging them to "stop playing with the lives of people."
Describing the pandemic as "very serious," the premier warned that the public’s decreasing commitment to the government’s health instructions has led to the disease "swiftly spreading."
"Unfortunately, there has recently been very little commitment to the [health] instructions," Barzani added.
Although a total lockdown has been lifted across the Region, authorities have continuously urged the public to adhere to the health regulations and take the pandemic seriously.
The Kurdistan Region began implementing measures to curb the spread of the virus 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 run through the Region's roads.
But with cases of the virus reemerging in large numbers day after day since the beginning of May, the KRG imposed a full, 72-hour lockdown across the Kurdistan Region on the three days of Eid al-Fitr.
The KRG over the weekend renewed a ban on travel between provinces in the Kurdistan Region until June 16, according to the latest order issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases across the Kurdistan Region now stands at 566, of which 409 have recovered and five have died. The Region as a whole has 152 active cases.
"I am once again, calling my citizen sisters and brothers to adhere to the health regulations and maintain their health and those of their relatives," Barzani added. "Your safety matters the most to us."
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