Iraq

Government and institution measures in response to COVID-19.

Government and institution measures in response to COVID-19.

Return to homepage  |  Last updated: 24 June, 2020

General Information

The authorities have implemented a range of measures to limit the spread of the virus encompassing closing borders, travel restrictions (including on international flights and internal public transportation), closing schools and universities, and a nationwide lockdown and curfew was introduced on March 22. The curfew has subsequently been partially lifted during Ramadan: the curfew is currently daily from 7pm-6am, with a total curfew on Friday and Saturday. Work is permitted in shops and factories only during non-curfew hours and gatherings of more than three people are prohibited

Employment - related measures

  • Waiver of penalties applicable to the late payment of the February 2020 social security contributions, which were due by the end of March 2020.
  • The Supreme Committee for Health and National Safety is introducing a cash transfer scheme, targeting workers in the private sector that do not receive salaries or benefits from the government. Each eligible individual is expected to receive 30,000 dinars each month, with an expected cost of around 300 billion dinars.

Economic stimulus measures

(e.g. loans, moratorium on debt repayments…)

  • The Central Bank has announced a moratorium on interest and principal payments by small and medium-sized enterprises through its directed lending initiative (the “one trillion ID” initiative), and encouraged banks to extend maturities of all loans as they deem appropriate. 
  • The Central Bank also encouraged the use of electronic payments to contain the transmission of the virus, and instructed vendors to eliminate commissions on such payments for the next six months.

Other measures and sources

  • To support the Ministry of Health's efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Bank of Iraq has established a fund to collect donations from financial institutions with initial donations of $20 million from the CBI itself and $5 million from the Trade Bank of Iraq. 
  • The Supreme Committee for Health and National Safety is introducing a cash transfer scheme, targeting workers in the private sector that do not receive salaries or benefits from the government. Each eligible individual is expected to receive 30,000 dinars each month, with an expected cost of around 600 billion dinars over 2 months
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