Iraq quarantines nationals flown home from coronavirus-hit Wuhan
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Fifty-eight Iraqis flown home from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan are being kept under round-the-clock medical observation at a Baghdad hospital for 14 days beginning on February 5.
Having arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, the Iraqis are undergoing medical observation at the National Center for Cancer Patients (NCCP) in the Iraqi capital city. They arrived on a Mahan Air flight that primarily carried Iranian nationals back to their country from Wuhan, according to the Iraqi foreign ministry.
None of the Iraqis are infected by the virus, according to government officials. All are “stable and in good health,” Jawad al-Musawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s health committee told Rudaw on Wednesday.
However, Musawi said the arrivals will be kept in hospital for a fortnight of observation to make absolutely certain that none are infected with the virus.
“They will stay at the hospital for no less than 14 days, and all their daily requirement and needs will be provided by the Iraqi government, to make sure they are not infected by the coronavirus,” he added.
Those quarantined will not be allowed family visits during the observation period, according to Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz reporting from Baghdad.
The first cases of coronavirus were recorded in Wuhan at the end of December 2019. It has since spread to more than 24 countries, including Australia, Germany and Japan. Over 24,000 people have been infected and more than 500 killed by the virus.
Symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat and a headache. Those with compromised immune systems are at a higher risk of contracting the disease.
More than 60 Iraqi students were in Wuhan when the coronavirus outbreak struck.
Two students speaking to Rudaw English earlier this week expressed disappointment in the Iraqi government’s delayed response in bringing its nationals home.
One of those students told Rudaw English on Wednesday that he and six other students did not board the Mahan Air flight and remain in Wuhan. He said the students were misled and told by officials that they would be quarantined in Iran if they were to take the flight.
Speaking to Rudaw on Wednesday, the head of Iraqi parliament’s health committee described media coverage as blowing the coronavirus outbreak out of proportion to stigmatize China “alongside the trade war.”
He described media coverage as part of a stigmatization of China “alongside the trade war” and warned against blowing the outbreak out of proportion.
“I want to make sure all Iraqis know that coronavirus is similar to other viruses such as flu, and they are not deadly as they seem to be,” committee head Qutaiba al-Jibouri said.
Additional reporting by Halkawt Aziz and Mohammed Rwanduzy
Having arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, the Iraqis are undergoing medical observation at the National Center for Cancer Patients (NCCP) in the Iraqi capital city. They arrived on a Mahan Air flight that primarily carried Iranian nationals back to their country from Wuhan, according to the Iraqi foreign ministry.
None of the Iraqis are infected by the virus, according to government officials. All are “stable and in good health,” Jawad al-Musawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s health committee told Rudaw on Wednesday.
However, Musawi said the arrivals will be kept in hospital for a fortnight of observation to make absolutely certain that none are infected with the virus.
“They will stay at the hospital for no less than 14 days, and all their daily requirement and needs will be provided by the Iraqi government, to make sure they are not infected by the coronavirus,” he added.
Those quarantined will not be allowed family visits during the observation period, according to Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz reporting from Baghdad.
The first cases of coronavirus were recorded in Wuhan at the end of December 2019. It has since spread to more than 24 countries, including Australia, Germany and Japan. Over 24,000 people have been infected and more than 500 killed by the virus.
Symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat and a headache. Those with compromised immune systems are at a higher risk of contracting the disease.
More than 60 Iraqi students were in Wuhan when the coronavirus outbreak struck.
Two students speaking to Rudaw English earlier this week expressed disappointment in the Iraqi government’s delayed response in bringing its nationals home.
One of those students told Rudaw English on Wednesday that he and six other students did not board the Mahan Air flight and remain in Wuhan. He said the students were misled and told by officials that they would be quarantined in Iran if they were to take the flight.
Speaking to Rudaw on Wednesday, the head of Iraqi parliament’s health committee described media coverage as blowing the coronavirus outbreak out of proportion to stigmatize China “alongside the trade war.”
He described media coverage as part of a stigmatization of China “alongside the trade war” and warned against blowing the outbreak out of proportion.
“I want to make sure all Iraqis know that coronavirus is similar to other viruses such as flu, and they are not deadly as they seem to be,” committee head Qutaiba al-Jibouri said.
Additional reporting by Halkawt Aziz and Mohammed Rwanduzy