Since March 13, a curfew has been in place in large parts of the autonomous region of Southern Kurdistan to contain the spread of corona infections. Yesterday, the curfew was extended by three more days and extended to Halabja. Previously, the ban only applied in the provinces of Sulaymaniyah, Hewler (Erbil) and Duhok.

The Kurdish regional government had already cancelled all Newroz celebrations at the end of February. Also the commemoration ceremony for the victims of the chemical weapons attack on Halabja on 16 March 1988 by the Saddam regime had to be cancelled. Local and long-distance public transport was suspended at the weekend for an initial two weeks. Schools, universities, theatres, museums, administrations and sports facilities in Southern Kurdistan have been closed for weeks, and since Friday, restaurants, bars, hairdressers and shops whose goods are not absolutely necessary for daily needs had to close.

So far, 28 corona infections have been detected in Southern Kurdistan and one person has died.