The high committee for national health and safety has decided to implement full curfew on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and night curfew from 8 pm to 5 am effective Feb. 18 to March 8 due to spike in Covid- 19 cases.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi headed the committee meeting on Saturday which has taken tighter restrictions in order to limit the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
Iraq has registered about 640,000 cases and 13,164 deaths since February 2020, Iraqi ministry of health data shows. Daily cases in Iraq has surged from 1.000 cases a day in January to 2,190 on February 13, pushing the government to take tougher security and health measures.
Schools will be shut up to March 4th as they used to attend classrooms once a day. Alternatively, schools will offer away learning. The closure is renewable in case the figures were alarming, the statement by the committee added.
The curfew exempts health care sector, security forces, public services, media and groceries.
Ordinary life has been resumed in Iraq since last April as authorities eased restrictions except schools which were receiving pupils once a week for classroom education.
The new restrictions include intercity travel ban, compulsory masking in and social distancing in the public. All mosques and worship houses will be closed except during prayer times. Funerals, parties and social gatherings are banned. The penalty for violation of social gathering is 5M Iraqi Dinars ($3,500). The shutdown covers malls, cafes, gyms, swimming pools, and cinemas.
People were skipping health precautions as authorities eased restrictions amid public belief that herd immunity have been acquired. Others believe it is the quietness before the storm in reference to the new variant of Covid-19 which is ramping all over the world.
In the beginning of February, Iraqi Minister of health called on the public to use masks and keep social distancing. He called for tough financial penalties on shops, malls, restaurants and cafes up to closure when health warnings to fight the pandemic disregarded. He asked for more awareness and educating campaigns about Covid-19 pandemic.
Iraq has not started vaccination process but it had come to agreement with three vaccine providers: Pfizer-Biontech, Astra Zeneca and Sinopharm. First batches expected to be received end of February, the minister said.
