More than 150 people stranded in Jordan due to a COVID-19-related flight ban returned to the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday, according to a KRG spokesperson. 

157 people returned to the Region from the Jordanian capital of Amman, according to a statement from spokesperson Jutiar Adil. 

“The process of the returning of these people was done in coordination between [KRG] Department of Foreign Affairs and Iraqi foreign ministry,” read the statement. 

Two days ago, 118 Iraqis returned to Mosul and Kirkuk after travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage. 

The KRG Department for Foreign Affairs has also brought home Kurdish students from Turkey and Cyprus who were stranded due to flight bans and border closures.

The current flight ban in Iraq and Kurdistan Region is due to expire on April 18.

By Karwan Faidhi Dri

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Four people tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases in regime-held areas in Syria to 33, according to a statement by the health ministry. 

Of the 33 cases, two have died and five have recovered, reported the state-owned SANA news agency. 

The first case of coronavirus in Syria was confirmed on March 22, but no cases have been recorded by either Kurdish authorities in the northeast nor by rebels in the northwest. 

COVID-19 testing kits have been sent to Kurdish-held areas- known to Kurds as Rojava- by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani. Four more kits are expected to be delivered to the area. 

By Karwan Faidhi Dri 

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Turkey announced the deaths of 115 COVID-19 patients in the last 24 hours, the highest daily death toll since the country announced its first case of the virus. New data puts the total number of cases at nearly 70,000. 

According to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, 4,281 people have tested positive for coronavirus and 115 have died in the last 24 hours. He added that 875 patients have recovered in the same period. 

The new data brings the total number of the infected to 69,392. This includes 1,518 deaths and 5,674 recoveries. 1,820 patients are in intensive care. 

Ankara has taken several measures to curb the spread of the pandemic, including weekend lockdowns, closure of schools, a flight ban, border closures and quarantining some residential areas.

Some 650 prisoners have been released since last night amid measures to stem the spread of the virus in the country’s overcrowded prisons. At least 17 inmates have been infected and three  have died from the virus. Ankara is expected to release a total of 90,000 prisoners after an amnesty law was passed in early hours of Tuesday. 

Turkey’s interior ministry said on Wednesday that some 250,000 people in 227 areas are currently under quarantine. 

By Karwan Faidhi Dri 

 

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The coronavirus lockdown will be extended until the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced on Wednesday.

“The Supreme committee for health and national safety decided to extend the curfew until beginning of the holy month of Ramadan,” the PM’s office tweeted. 

Ramadan is scheduled to begin on the evening of April 23.

 Iraqi authorities recorded 15 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Wednesday, according to the health ministry. Four cases were documented in the capital Baghdad, three in Basra, three in Karbala, three in Dhi Qar, one in Sulaimani, and one in Babil. One death was recorded in Dhi Qar province. 

Forty-six people have recovered; including 12 in Baghdad, nine in Muthana, eight in Basra, six in Najaf, five in Karbala, four in Erbil, and two in Dhi Qar. This brings the total number of the cases in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to 1,415. Of these, 79 have died and 812 have recovered. 

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Government services will remain suspended until May 2 under measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Wednesday. However, it did not mention any further extension to the lockdown.  

“The Council of Ministers thanks the public for their patience and adherence to health instructions and protection procedures,” read the KRG statement. 

“We have decided to extend the suspension of government institutions until May 2 while the protection procedures will continue.”

The current suspension was due to expire on Thursday. 

It is not clear whether the KRG will also extend the lockdown, which is also due to expire on Thursday. 

KRG officials, including Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, have hinted the lockdown could be extended until health authorities are convinced the outbreak has been brought under control. 

“Today I spoke by phone with Erbil province’s ops room and thanked them for their hard work, dedication, and leadership,” Barzani tweeted on Tuesday. 

“I also asked them to continue to administer government measures. The curfew remains in place until we have full control over the spread of the coronavirus.”

However, the KRG statement said Barzani will “do his best to ease the burden on the public, in a way that does not impact on the implementation of protection procedures and health instructions,” suggesting some restrictions could be eased in the near future.  

The Kurdistan Region has a total of 332 coronavirus cases. Of these, 194 people have recovered and four have died. 

In a positive development, just two new cases have been recorded in the last three days. 

This dramatic fall in the spread of the virus could make the case for easing restrictions, which are taking a toll on the economy and private incomes. 

By Karwan Faidhi Dri 

 

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Iran's health ministry has announced a daily COVID-19 death toll of less than 100 for the second day in a row, with 94 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. 

There have been 1,512 cases confirmed since yesterday, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said, bringing the number of infections so far to 76,389.

In total, 4,777 people in Iran have died after contracting the novel coronavirus, the statement added. The number of recoveries has climbed to 49,933.  Continue Reading

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The Kurdistan Regional Government advises anyone in the Kurdistan Region displaying coronavirus symptoms to call its emergency hotline on 122. This service is available in Kurdish and Arabic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. More information can be found on the government’s website.

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