Iraqis poured into streets and commercial areas on Sunday as authorities relaxed coronavirus restrictions despite calls to reconsider the move amid surging cases and fatalities.
The decision, approved on Thursday by Iraq’s Higher Committee for Health and Public Safety, seeks to ease growing pressure on the economy and restore some sense of normality.
Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in Iraq and shows no signs of abating despite orders to stay at home and other protective measures imposed since mid-March.
The lockdown has harmed the country’s private sector, fuelling anti-government sentiment.
The committee said easing restrictions was aimed at “revitalising the commercial activities in the country and to ease the burden on the workers".
The daily curfew has been shortened to run from 9pm to 5am, while malls have been allowed to reopen on the condition that they strictly apply precautions to prevent the spread of infection.
Commercial movement at two border crossings with Iran and one with Kuwait also resumed, while airports will reopen on July 23.
Restaurants, cafes, children's play areas, places of worship, hairdressers, preschools and private clinics are not allowed to open yet.
Authorities have maintained a round-the-clock curfew on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, which will be reviewed after the Eid Al Adha holiday at the end of the month.
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Coronavirus in the Middle East
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At Baghdad Mall in the west of the capital, sanitisation booths were set up at the entrances and employees posted to ensure shoppers wore face masks and gloves.
Stands for hand sanitisers were also placed near by.
Most shops inside the mall also had sanitisers and a few put social distancing stickers on the floor.
But shoppers, some wearing face shields along with their masks, were not practising social distancing as they browsed among clothes racks or crowded at cashiers.
Some said reopening malls had brought joy back into their lives.
“I have not been out for months now,” said Sara Youssif, 25, who was wearing a face mask and gloves as she put down her shopping bags to look for a screen protector and phone cover at a stand for mobile accessories.
“I spent about 400,000 dinars [Dh1,231] on clothing and cosmetics and there are still more things to buy.
“I have been saying from the very beginning that we need to coexist with the virus because it is here to stay.
“And that the only solution is to protect ourselves. There must be compliance.”
But critics say it is still too early to return to normality.
On Friday, the Iraqi Medical Association said easing restrictions would harm efforts to contain the disease as “infections are still at high levels”.
“The committee’s decision didn’t take into consideration any official statistics or solid scientific research,” it said.
The association said the government's preventive measures were weak.
“It should have reviewed preventive measures at health institutions and supplied protection equipment to the medical staff instead of increasing crowds in public areas,” the medical group said.
On Sunday, Iraq announced 2,310 new infections and 90 deaths in the previous 24 hours.
That raised the total confirmed cases to 92,530 cases, and deaths to 3,781.
But for Ayoob Adnan Hamza, it was a relief to see customers in his shop again.
“Our business is badly hit by the outbreak. We didn’t expect to close down all this time,” said Mr Hamza, 24, outlet manager for a brand of women's handbags and shoes.
He estimated lost revenue at about $80,000 since the closing in mid-March.
The coronavirus has affected two peak times for his business, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha.
In the eerily quiet section for restaurants and cafes, a group of youths had gathered. They were in the mall to take photographs.
“The place here is perfect for us, it’s quiet with nice decoration,” said Duaa Al Mukhtar who was posing for a photo for her shopping page on Instagram that features women's clothing.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
Tentative schedule of 2017/18 Ashes series
1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane
2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth
4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company%20Profile
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5