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Schools Reopen in Iraqi Kurdistan Region Despite COVID-19 Outbreak

Security agents wearing masks in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan (Reuters)
Security agents wearing masks in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan (Reuters)
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Schools Reopen in Iraqi Kurdistan Region Despite COVID-19 Outbreak

Security agents wearing masks in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan (Reuters)
Security agents wearing masks in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan (Reuters)

The Supreme Committee to confront the coronavirus in Iraq's Kurdistan region convened on Wednesday to assess the overall health situation and the spread of COVID-19 in the area, during which it decided on a set of measures to resume the academic year.

Following the meeting, the spokesman for Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Jutyar Adel, held a joint press conference with the education and health ministers.

Adel said that the committee approved a set of new precautions to confront the virus, including the opening of four border crossings in Bashmaq, Parvez Khan, Ibrahim Khalil and Haji Omeran, given that the health measures are followed, and people are tested on arrival. He also indicated that citizens who do not abide by preventive measures and wear masks will be subject to penalties.

For his part, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Aram Mohammad, said that e-learning will continue for university students, however he noted that exams will be held on campus.

He stressed that students must adhere to precautionary measures, stressing that the academic year will not be postponed.

Also, the Minister of Education, Alan Saeed, said that the school year will continue as previously announced for the primary and secondary schools. He said that students of grades one, two, and twelve will be attending classes while the rest will study online.

The Ministry of Health said it registered 912 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, in addition to 20 deaths.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Pulmonologist and doctor of internal medicine Dr. Ali Barzanji said that the right measures to prevent and confront the virus are those announced by the World Health Organization (WHO).

He stressed that the validity of these precautions depends on seasonal changes and citizens’ commitment to the measures, adding that full lockdown is the best solution to prevent the spread of the virus.

However, he noted that lockdown can’t be applied for long periods due to economic and social challenges.

"Authorities should rely on the citizens and their commitment to the precautions", according to the expert.

Barzanji warned that an increased number of cases in hospitals and private clinics reveal that there is a second wave of infections, but the official figures are yet to be announced by the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, Epidemiologist Dr. Khalil Salim said that lockdowns are not a proper solution to confront the second wave of the virus.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Salim said being ready for a second wave requires preparing the health teams and facilities to confront the surge in cases.

He noted that lockdowns enforced in many countries at the beginning of the first wave aimed to help authorities prepare their medical teams to confront the outbreak.

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Arab World

Israeli War Planes Pound Beirut Suburb, Hezbollah Strikes Back

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)
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Israeli War Planes Pound Beirut Suburb, Hezbollah Strikes Back

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP)

The Israeli military pounded Beirut's southern suburbs with airstrikes on Tuesday, mounting one of its heaviest daytime attacks yet on the Hezbollah-controlled area after the defense minister ruled out a ceasefire until Israeli goals were met.

Smoke billowed over Beirut as around a dozen strikes hit the southern suburbs from mid-morning. After posting warnings to civilians on social media, the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah targets in the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut, including command centers and weapons production sites.

It said it had taken steps to reduce harm to civilians and repeated its standing accusation that Hezbollah deliberately embeds itself into civilian areas to use residents as human shields, a charge Hezbollah rejects.

In northern Israel, two people were killed in the city of Nahariya when a residential building was hit by a missile, Israeli police said.

Israelis were forced to take shelter across the north as attack drones were launched from Lebanon, the military said. One hit the yard of a kindergarten in a Haifa suburb, where the children had been rushed into a shelter, rescue workers said. None were hurt.

An Israeli strike back across the border killed five people in the Lebanese village of Baalchmay southeast of Beirut, and five more were killed in a strike on the town of Tefahta in the south, Lebanon's health ministry said. Another person was killed in a strike in Hermel in the northeast, it said.

Beirut residents have largely fled the southern suburbs since Israel began bombing it in September. Footage of one strike shared on social media showed two missiles slamming into a building of around 10 storeys, demolishing it and sending up clouds of debris.

Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah had been rumbling on for a year before Israel went on the offensive in September, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows, killing many of its leaders including Hassan Nasrallah, flattening large areas of the southern suburbs, destroying border villages in the south, and striking more widely across Lebanon.

Since hostilities erupted a year ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,287 people in Lebanon, the majority in the last seven weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon over the last year.

WAR GOALS

Israel's new defense minister Israel Katz said on Monday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon until Israel achieves its goals.

"Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel's right to enforce and prevent terrorism on its own, and meet the goals of the war in Lebanon - disarming Hezbollah and its withdrawal beyond the Litani River and returning the residents of the north safely to their homes," he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had said earlier on Monday there had been "a certain progress" in ceasefire talks but the main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement.

The Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire based on the full implementation of a UN resolution that ended a war between the group and Israel in 2006.

The resolution calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of all weapons other than those of the Lebanese state. Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of violating the resolution.

Israel's offensive has driven more than 1 million people from their homes in Lebanon, causing a humanitarian crisis.

Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel has forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the area over the last year.