Covid, Unrest: Iraqis Tackle Obstacles To Host Pope

Baghdad, March 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Mar, 2021 ) :Security threats, the Covid pandemic, war-ravaged infrastructure: Iraqis are facing major challenges as they plan to host Pope Francis later this week.

"We're very happy about this historic visit -- but it does come at a pretty difficult time," confided an official from Iraq's presidency.

Benedict XVI, who resigned as pontiff eight years ago, warned in an interview published Monday that Francis' historic visit to Iraq is "a dangerous trip for reasons of security and for the coronavirus".

A major concern has been Iraq's second wave of Covid-19, with around 4,000 new cases registered daily in the country of 40 million people.

Among those who tested positive just days before the pontiff's arrival was the Vatican's ambassador to Iraq, Mitja Leskovar.

The pope, 84, his staff and the dozens of journalists who will travel with him have been vaccinated, but no inoculation drive has yet been launched in Iraq.

To stem the spread of the virus, authorities imposed overnight curfews as well as full lockdowns on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the three days of the pope's visit this week.

"The lockdown will be extended to include the entirety of the pope's visit, and security forces will be deployed to secure the streets," said Iraq's deputy foreign minister Nizar Khairallah.

Authorities have also barred travel between Iraq's provinces to keep down crowds, which are expected to be much thinner than the usual mass gatherings that welcome a visiting pope.

The prayer services he will host are ticketed events with limited seating, and church officials have told AFP they would implement strict social distancing and require all guests to disinfect regularly.