Iraq bans travel between provinces as COVID-19 continues to spread

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A series of new measures have been introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Iraq, including a complete ban on travel between Iraqi provinces, according to an official statement from the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

Movement between provinces is completely banned from Thursday, except for humanitarian cases and state employees on work trips.

Individuals breaking rules on movement and social gatherings will be issued on-the-spot fines, the statement added.

A nighttime curfew has been in place across federal Iraq since February 18. Schools, universities, salons, parks, wedding and funeral venues and sites of religious congregation have been closed since February 15.

The Kurdistan Region announced on Monday that it would be restricting travel to and from federal Iraq, following a new variant of coronavirus reaching the area.

Travel between Iraqi provinces and the Kurdistan Region was prohibited for much of last year, as COVID-19 took hold across the country.

Iraq's Ministry of Health said last week that 50 percent of new COVID-19 cases are the UK strain of the virus,  with children and young people especially affected.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in Iraq in recent weeks, with 4,072 cases in 24 hours announced by the health ministry on Thursday. The country has so far registered over 600,000 cases, according to the ministry.

The Iraqi parliament's health committee announced that Iraq will receive approximately three million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of February or beginning of March, state media reported on Sunday.