ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Approximately 8,000 people in Duhok province have been placed under lockdown after the town of Qadesh confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Saturday.



Qadesh lies 15km west of Amedi, a popular resort town north of Duhok city. Tourists and nearby residents flock to the area in the summer months.



The town’s streets now lie empty.



Security forces are enforcing a lockdown throughout the settlement after a single case of coronavirus was confirmed this weekend, leaving shops and deserted. Peshmerga forces only permit residents to leave their homes in case of emergency.



The Zervani forces, under the command of the interior ministry have erected two checkpoints at both entrances to the town and inspect everyone that comes and goes. Unnecessary travel is forbidden, and residents are only allowed to leave their homes with permission from a government administrator.



"It is difficult to get out of the house unless it is for a visit to a doctor or to the market...the security forces are harsh. You can’t come and go as you please. I am actually grateful because it is in our own interest," local resident Ahmad Abdulsalam told Rudaw's Ayub Nasri on Monday morning.



“We have blocked the roads, people cannot go out unless it is essential. People are very cooperative, which is good for us,” Zervani captain Ahmad Abdulwahid said from the town.



26 people have been sent to quarantine in a Duhok hospital following contact with the patient.



Duhok province has reported relatively few cases of coronavirus cases compared to Sulaimani, which lies on the border with Iran - the regional epicenter of the virus.



9 people in the Duhok area are so far confirmed to have the virus and around 700 are in quarantine.



However, the province has not remained immune to containment measures. A region-wide lockdown was imposed on 22 March- shutting shops, restaurants and public facilities across the Kurdistan Region. The cities of Erbil and Sulaimani had been placed on lockdown over a week earlier in an attempt to stem the spread of the highly contagious virus.



Erbil’s Sebiran town was placed under quarantine on March 23, where at least 15 cases of the virus were detected.



The Kurdistan Region currently has 150 confirmed cases of the virus, with 2 deaths and 55 recoveries recorded.

With reporting by Ayub Nasri