The local authorities have decided to build four health centers for treatment and quarantine of Covid-19 cases in the camps of the internally displace people IDPs in the northern province of Duhok, local health officials said.
The health centers are to open its doors in October in the IDP camps of Bersiv 1, Bersiv 2, Sharia and Ashti where the highest figures of positive cases and deaths were registered in the last two months.
Mahir Misho, manager of Bersiv 2 camp in the district of Zakho said the process of building the heath center was launched end of July and it will take two months.
“The center is located in the middle of the camp for treatment and quarantine of those people infected of Corona,” Misho said. “It’s a big service for the IDPs since they can be checked easily by doctors.”
Up today, patients in this camp and nearby ones have to travel a 17-km way to the general hospital of Zakho. The camp of Bersiv 2 have registered 100 positive cases and three deaths among its 7,000 residents in the last two months.
“We asked for a vaccination outlet as well since only 100 people are vaccinated here,” he added.
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 or an outlet for vaccination dedicated for the Ezidi IDPs. Informal figures got by KirkukNow end of July show that four IDPs passed away in two weeks due to Covid-19
Tens of thousands of Ezidis are still living in 26 of camps for IDPs in Kurdistan region despite liberation of their territories from ISIS in 2017 due to the vast destruction to their hometowns and public utilities.
In August 2014, the extremist militants of IS stormed the district of Shingal, home to tens of thousands of Ezidis, adherents of an ancient religion accused of being devil worshippers, and have committed atrocities mounted to genocide.
81,000 IDP families live out of the IDP camps and 34,000 families inside 26 IDP camps in Iraqi Kurdistan region, mainly in Duhok northern province, shows the figures by Joint Coordination Center of crisis management JCC under the ministry of interior for Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
We asked for a vaccination outlet as well since only 100 people are vaccinated here
Khalo Qassim, originally from Shingal and lives in Bersiv 2 camp for seven years, says two weeks ago many people got infected of Corona virus “and we are scared so we ask for easy access to vaccination as no inoculation center is in the camp.”
The directorate of health in Duhok, a state body, to oversight the health centers in the camps to be run by aid and charity organizations.
Hamza Mohammed Ali, media officer of Duihok health directorate, said the four centers will be ready on October. “The purpose of this project is to ensure health guidelines and quarantine infected cases in the camps by guidance of the medical staff.”
“Critical cases also can be diagnosed and transferred to hospitals in Duhok,” he added.
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, sources told KirkukNow early August.
Sharp drop in infections of Covid-19 is seen as Iraq registered less than 4,000 positive cases on Saturday August 21st, compared to over 6,000 on Friday and 8,000 on Thursday, daily figures by health ministry shows. Inoculation almost hit three million yet the figures are not clear how many people received both doses.
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.
