Iraqis permitted to travel abroad but test regime remains

▶ Self-isolation for 14 days and health checks will be required of citizens on return as case numbers increase

Iraq has allowed its citizens to travel abroad under certain conditions despite a recent spike in coronavirus cases and deaths.

Iraqis who leave the country must undergo Covid-19 tests upon their return and isolate themselves for two weeks, the government’s Twitter account said on Friday.

“Iraqi nationals returning to the country must undergo both clinical and rapid Covid-19 tests. Those who have test negative must self-quarantine at home for 14 days,” the Higher Health and National Safety Committee to Combat the Novel Coronavirus said.

“Those who tested positive or showed symptoms of infection will be transferred to specialist hospitals,” the committee said.

Iraq has witnessed a rapid increase in infections in recent weeks.

As of yesterday, the health ministry reported 75,194 cases and 3,055 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

But the official figures are widely believed to represent only a fraction of the real number of infections and deaths in Iraq.

A nationwide partial curfew between 7pm to 6am from Sunday to Wednesday will continue, as well as a full curfew from Thursday to Saturday, the committee said.

It also ordered that official preventive health measures that include the wearing of face masks in public, social distancing in shops, government and private sector buildings and vehicles be enforced.

The government must hold those who break the coronavirus health rules to account, it said.

The committee, which reports to Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, was set up shortly after Iraq confirmed its first case of coronavirus in March.

Among its members are the ministers of health, interior and education, as well as police and military commanders, government media officials and border security.

Muwaffaq Al Rubaie, a neurologist turned politician, was appointed secretary of the committee last week, the country’s official news agency reported.

The deteriorating health crisis is leaving vulnerable communities in Iraq on the brink of survival.

Highly vulnerable communities – including 1.4 million internally displaced people – were the most at risk, humanitarian welfare agency Care International said on Friday.

It urged international donors to step up their financial support after finding that funding for Covid-19 crisis operations fell short by 87 per cent in Iraq.

“Despite the violence and movement restrictions, we heard of families who have been displaced for years now going back to their home towns in Sinjar – places where they have nothing left and experienced horrific violence and trauma,” said Wendy Barron, director of Care International in Iraq.

“They are returning home due to Covid-19 and related lockdown measures which makes their lives unbearable in camps and other displacement settlements.”

Decades of war and conflict have taken a toll on Iraq’s health sector, with many officials giving warnings that hospitals cannot handle the rapid spread of coronavirus.

Attempts to re-establish Iraq’s healthcare system were hindered by a number of factors, including fragile national security and lack of utilities such as water and electricity, the officials said.

We heard of families who have been displaced for years now going back to their home towns in Sinjar WENDY BARRON Care International