Three sisters of the Ezidi community have passed away due to Covid-19 infection in in the last three weeks amid low turnout for inoculation and absence of center for the war-ravaged region of the Ezidi community.
Zery Kamo Hussein, 63, resident of Kabartw IDP camp, have passed away of Covid-19 on July 18th, while her sister Khatwn, 52, who was living in Bersiv vamp died on August 5th and five days later the third sister Wazha, 56, died in Borga settlement of Shingal district of Mosul.
“All the three sisters were dead because of Corona in 24 days in three different places,” confirmed their cousin Hussein Michy Hussein.
“When Zery died, we held no funeral and even have not told the other two sisters whom did not visit her before her death in order to not get infected. They have been infected by other people in other places,” he added.
Zery had no kids while Khatun was mother of six children and Wazha left seven children behind.
Ezidis are an ethno-religious minority over half a million people, mostly residing in Shingal, in northern Iraqi province of Nineveh. The militants of Daesh extremist group in 2014 attacked their communities, killing thousands of men and taking thousands of women and children, in an atrocity the U.N. said amounted to genocide.
IS reportedly used the women and girls as sex slaves. Tens of thousands of Ezidis are leading a miserable life under tents in tens of Internally Displaced People IDP camps in Iraqi Northern Province of Duhok.
Hussein urged the Ezidis to inoculate “as people are in close contact in the camps while distancing and inoculation is the best solution.
There are small and temporary health centers for first aid in the camps for IDPs forcing the positive cases to go to public hospitals outside the camps in the centers of the main cities.
In the IDP camps and the Ezidi region, there is no Covid-19 treatment hospital and an outlet for vaccination in any camp or specially dedicated for the IDPs.
Informal figures got by KirkukNow end of July show that four IDPs passed away in two weeks due to Covid-19 in Kurdistan region where 665,000 IDPs live in 26 camps, 30% are Ezidis, shows the figures by Joint Cooperation Center of Crisis JCC under the ministry of interior of Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
The war against ISIS in the disputed territories left the war-ravaged region miss the basic public services of water and power supply, healthcare and education and employment.
The IDPs blame the authorities for poor public services, especially in terms of healthcare. The camps miss special centers for vaccination, a step to curb the spread of the pandemic among impoverished IDPs.
Hamza Raziki, media officer of Duhok health directorate told KirkuNow end of June the IDPs have to vaccinate in Mosul as Ninewa province is in charge yet a center was allocated for Syrian refugees in Domiz camp and IDPs can get the jab there.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi chaired a meeting of high committee for health & safety on Tuesday where he decided to impose compulsory masking in public places as Iraq faces third wave of Covid-19, Iraqi PM Media office said.
The Iraqi security forces ISF are tasked to impose recommendations of this meeting. From next week, civil servants will attend office in two shifts, each three days in order to curb the third wave of the pandemic.
