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Asian tourists wearing protective masks in Istanbul on January 31, 2020. Photo: Yasin Akgul/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Media Cell announced late Friday that no Iraqi citizens have been infected with Coronavirus, despite new calls to avoid travel to China.
Iraq’s Higher Ministerial Committee met on Friday to discuss the global outbreak of the virus which has placed the Chinese city of Wuhan on lockdown. Relevant authorities and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) also attended the meeting, according to a statement Iraqi Media Cell.
Coronavirus symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat and a headache. Emerging in Wuhan at the end of last year, the virus has swiftly spread to all Chinese provinces, with cases also confirmed in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. It has killed over 200 people in China and affected over 10,000 people worldwide, according to Reuters.
“We reassure citizens that no cases have been recorded among Iraqis in China or in any other country. No cases have been recorded inside Iraq either,” read the statement published by Iraqi Ministry of Health Spokesperson Saif al-Badr on Facebook.
“The committee recommended to take all health measures to ensure the safety of all those coming to Iraq from China directly or indirectly and through crossing borders,” the statement added.
Most countries have tightened travel restrictions to China, and the WHO declared a global health emergency due to the rapid outbreak of the virus.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Interior released a statement on Friday evening calling on people to postpone their visits to China.
“We call on the citizens of Kurdistan Region to postpone their trips to China until further notice in order to preserve the citizens of Kurdistan Region and prevent the outbreak of Coronavirus."”
The KRG has decided not to issue visas to Chinese citizens for 30 days, and prevents the entrance of foreigners who have visited China on January 14, 2020 or afterwards," it added.
All Iraqi citizens coming from China will be “inspected” and medical teams will be present at border crossings.
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