ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – 1850 people who recently entered Kurdistan Region from neighboring countries are currently in quarantine as part of the Region’s measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has severely hit the neighboring Iran.





Speaking to the press, the Kurdistan Regional government (KRG) health minister reiterated that no cases of the virus have been registered in the Region so far.





“1850 travelers are in quarantine in 21 places,” KRG Health Minister Saman Barzanji told reporters in Sulaimani on Saturday, adding that 12 suspected cases tested yesterday all came back negative. He also stated that they have yet to receive the results for three additional suspected cases.





“We do these tests continually to all suspects coming from other countries,” he said.





Visiting a newly-built hospital in Sulaimani province, Barzanji explained that the KRG has set up 16 testing points at border crossings, airports and on its borders with federal Iraq, which has confirmed eight cases so far in the cities of Najaf, Baghdad and Kirkuk.





Coronavirus COVID-19, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, has killed nearly 3,000 people and infected nearly 85,500 worldwide.





Iran has become the epicenter of concerns about pandemic in the Middle East, with the latest official figures standing at 593 infections and 43 deaths, according to Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoush Jahanpour.





The KRG has closed its border with Iran, forcing some Kurdish residents to take illegal paths to return to the Region.





Barzanji called on the public “to further support [government quarantine efforts] by identifying those people who have entered the Kurdistan Region without being tested.





“We have to ensure that these people have not been infected with the virus.”







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