Iraqi authorities recorded 27 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Monday, according to the health ministry.

Eight cases were documented in the capital Baghdad, seven cases in Erbil, seven cases in Muthana, three cases in Sulaimani, one case in Najaf, and one case in Basra.

One person died in Najaf province.

Twenty-three people have recovered, including eight in Basra, six in Dhi Qar, four in Baghdad, two in Erbil, two in Wasit, one in Najaf, and one in Maysan.

This brings the total number of the cases in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to 1,847. Of these, 88 have died and 1,286 have recovered.

By Lawk Ghafuri

Three new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Sulaimani province on Monday, according to the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) health ministry.

All the new cases were detected in the town of Sharbazhir in the north of the province. They include a 26-year-old woman, a 14-year-old girl, and an eight-year old child. 

As of Monday evening, Sulaimani has confirmed 137 infections. Of these, seven are active cases, 126 have recovered, and four have died.

Officials have confirmed a total of 352 cases across the Kurdistan Region, including 322 recoveries and four deaths.

The KRG’s interior ministry extended the lockdown until May 1, but granted local governments the authority to ease curfew measures, leading to the reopening of most of businesses and the removal of most checkpoints inside and outside cities.

However, KRG health minister Saman Barzinji warned on Thursday that the easing of lockdown measures does not mean the crisis has passed.

By Lawk Ghafuri

Five new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Erbil province on Monday, according to the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) health ministry.

Officials did not identify the newly infected individuals or say where the cases were recorded.

Two other cases were confirmed in the province on Sunday – one of them a resident of Darashakran refugee camp, which has now been placed on lockdown.

Erbil had gone almost two weeks without any new cases, prompting authorities to relax lockdown measures in time for the start of Ramadan. Now new cases are beginning to emerge.

Officials have confirmed a total of 352 coronavirus cases in the  Kurdistan Region, including 322 recoveries and four deaths.

The KRG’s interior ministry extended the lockdown until May 1, but granted local governments the authority to ease curfew measures, leading to the reopening of most of businesses and the removal of most checkpoints inside and outside cities.

However, KRG health minister Saman Barzinji warned on Thursday that the easing of lockdown measures does not mean the crisis has passed.

“The new measures are aimed at serving the public, and do not mean the disease is at an end. The COVID-19 threat is not over yet. We have to expect its spread at any moment, and we have to continue preventing and confronting corona[virus] and adhere to health instructions,” he said.

By Lawk Ghafuri

New figures released by the Iranian Ministry of Health reveal that 5,011 have been poisoned from drinking methanol since the COVID-19 outbreak began. 

Several warnings have been released worldwide after people began drinking methanol, a highly toxic form of simple alcohol, in the false belief that it would kill the virus or provide some protection from COVID-19. In Iran, 525 people have died as a result of ingesting the substance.

The latest statistics  from Iran also reveal a decrease in confirmed cases for the first time in over a month. 

A total of 991 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, the first time in 36 days that the number of daily infections is under 1,000. 

The nationwide death toll currently stands at 5,806, with 96 in the last 24 hours. According to the ministry, 70,933 people have recovered from the virus and 3,011 remain in intensive care. 

Erbil’s Darashakran refugee camp has been placed under quarantine after a camp resident tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) health ministry announced two new cases of coronavirus in Erbil province on Sunday, one of which is a 32-year-old man from the camp. 

Iskandar Salih, head of the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) office in Erbil, told Rudaw that the refugee had left the camp for work on April 18 and has not returned since. 

Camp management has nevertheless placed the camp under lockdown, closing shops. Refugees and IDPs had already been confined to their camps by the KRG in a bid to curb the spread of the virus there, but shops were kept open and social distancing was not imposed. 

Darashakran camp is home to more than 11,000 Syrian refugees. This is the first time a resident of a refugee or IDP camp has tested positive for the virus in the Kurdistan Region. 

The Kurdistan Region has recorded 347 COVID-19 cases as of late Sunday. Of this, four have died and 320 have recovered.

By Karwan Faidhi Dri 

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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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