SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Iraqi Kurdistan health officials’ recommendations seem at odds with some religious leaders’ advice on dealing with the new coronavirus, Covid-19.

Some prominent clerics there are reminding Muslims that the Quran promises a martyr’s reward for the faithful who trust in Allah despite pestilence like Covid-19. Some are sharing a Kurdish poem that reads, “You youths take the mosque’s path / do not care about what is on your way / our mosque’s congregation is far away from epidemics.”

This is quite concerning to health officials. Though the number of infections in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan is thought to be small at this time, Iraq shares a long border with Iran, which is a hotspot for the virus.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Health Ministry on March 1 announced the first confirmed coronavirus cases in the region. “Tests were conducted for 24 [suspected cases]. As a result, four people from Sulaimaniyah tested positive for Covid-19, including a family of three and another woman who all returned from Iran. All of those who tested positive for the coronavirus were in quarantine," the ministry announced in a statement.