A close look on the necessity of enacting a new anti-pandemic legislation

After the big success of Kurdistan region government (KRG) in limiting or restricting the dangers of pandemic coronavirus COVID-19 to the minimal level, the necessity became obvious to enact a new anti-pandemic legislation to encounter whatever pandemic or epidemic, which may break out in the future. And mobilize all the capabilities as soon as possible to restore the routinely-organized lifestyle of the society back to its normal and usual level. This world-wide health crisis showed some shortcomings and weaknesses in the health systems, roughly all over the world, as a result of the in how to respond quickly in the face of the overwhelming proliferation of this pandemic. so that the specifications of the newly-suggested anti-pandemic legislation should be reflected by the precisely-formulated legal articles and items, of which it should be made up of. In this brief article we shall try to put forward some suggestions about both the formulation and content of this law. As a step to treat and solve some problems, which have been posed, from practical viewpoint, during the period of lockdown:

1. The newly-suggested law should oblige every hospital, whether it be public or private, to build and contain permanent anti-pandemic wards, highly specialized in treating the pandemic itself, and the complications which may take place, such as kidney and lung failure.

2. The law should emphasize the need for well-equipped hospital wards with intensive care units, containing all types of respiratory apparatus and tools, as well as other equipment used in artificial respiration and resuscitation. It is worth-pointing out that this suggestion has also been presented by the national health service (NHS) in the UK to the British government to include it within newly-suggested coronavirus Act.

3. In order to meet any unexpected future pandemics or epidemics, the legislation should recommend that a considerable monetary budget be reserved to the health sector in general, and anti-pandemic logistics in particular.

4. The newly-suggested anti-pandemic law should encourage scientists and researchers to perform scientific research in the field epidemiology, and determine big monetary prizes reserved to new discoveries in the field of medical science.

5. The newly-suggested anti-pandemic law should emphasize on the importance and significance of training full-time medical staffs, through intensive training courses, on how to provide best medical services to the victims of pandemics and epidemics equally.

6. In the case of the unexpected proliferation or dissemination of pandemics, the newly-proposed legislation should give health administrations and authorities a wide discretionary power to give the priority to the pandemic victims at the expense of patients suffering from non-critical diseases, for the purpose of hospitalization and hospital accommodation. And allow hospital managements, for example, to postpone non-urgent elective surgical operations, such as plastic or cosmetic surgery.

7. The newly-suggested anti-pandemic legislation should recommend that rapid modification be made on outpatient clinics to accommodate larger numbers of pandemic victims as a quarantine, in the case of the comprehensive outbreak of the infection.

8. The newly-suggested anti-pandemic legislation should emphasize on the need of emergency logistic stores of masks, gloves and gowns in special warehouses, to be used immediately and profoundly.

9. The newly-suggested anti-pandemic legislation must entrust both the ministry of health and interior ministry with wide and obvious discretionary powers to regulate the state of lockdown, with reducing it gradually according to the latest developments in the health situation.

10. The newly-suggested anti-pandemic legislation should find alternative ways to compensate or make good for the dangerous staffing shortages, for example by resorting to volunteers to deliver urgent public services, during the peak of the crisis.

11. The suggested law should regulate the volunteering of people to assist the professional medical units, during the breakout of pandemic crisis. And the opening of registration and training centers for the volunteers.

12. The suggested law should give further discretionary powers to all the governmental bodies to slow down the spread of the pandemic, each within the field of its specialization.

13. The suggested law should provide for reducing administrative burdens of the governmental bodies, during the breakout of the pandemic.

14. The nature of all the powers entrusted to governmental public bodies, during the breakout of the pandemic, must be emergency powers.

15. The suggested law should regulate the service of the retired medical staff, desiring to work and deliver services, during the breakout and spread of the pandemic. As well as regulating their wages.

16. The suggested law should regulate the prizes, medals and decoration to be awarded to the distinguished individuals and members of medical units.

Finally, this suggested law should be independent in its procedures from all the former laws concerned with imposing the emergency, particularly, the national integrity law.