Protests in Damascus Quarantine Center over Mistreatment

Syrians buy goods on a recently-opened popular souk in Damascus, Syria, 16 May 2020, where people are buying basic needs, including clothes and food almost a week before Eid al-Fitr. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI
Syrians buy goods on a recently-opened popular souk in Damascus, Syria, 16 May 2020, where people are buying basic needs, including clothes and food almost a week before Eid al-Fitr. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI
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Protests in Damascus Quarantine Center over Mistreatment

Syrians buy goods on a recently-opened popular souk in Damascus, Syria, 16 May 2020, where people are buying basic needs, including clothes and food almost a week before Eid al-Fitr. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI
Syrians buy goods on a recently-opened popular souk in Damascus, Syria, 16 May 2020, where people are buying basic needs, including clothes and food almost a week before Eid al-Fitr. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI

Syria’s ministries of interior and health launched on Wednesday an inquiry into protests by some people staying in quarantine centers in the University City in Damascus.

People arriving in Damascus from abroad have been directly taken for a14-day quarantine at specified centers.

But they have refused to have the meals served and threw them from the University City center’s window, in protest at what they called mistreatment, lack of hygiene and the delay in testing them for the new coronavirus (COVID-19), informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

As soon as the videos and photos were circulated on social media, a team from both ministries launched the probe to refer them to the judiciary, local media sources reported.

Similar incidents have occurred earlier after videos and photos were leaked from a number of quarantine centers showing poor hygiene and services in a number of health centers assigned by the government in Damascus.

In early May, the government allowed Syrians stranded in countries like Russia, UAE, Sudan, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq and others, to return and abide by the precautionary measures to fight the pandemic.

The “Quarantine Diaries in Damascus” social media page, which publishes news on the coronavirus in the city has cited sources as affirming that relevant authorities from the ministries of health and interior were instructed to launch a probe into the practices of some of those quarantined in the University City.

Many of the quarantined refused to adhere to the 14-day confinement and offended medical personnel.

Despite the acute shortage of medical equipment caused by western sanctions, the health ministry has conducted 1,500 tests, giving priority to the elderly and those with health conditions and having COVID-19 symptoms, it stated.

However, independent medical sources said people with ties to the regime have been prioritized for testing, causing chaos and protests.

According to the ministry, there are 58 coronavirus cases in Syria, including three deaths and 36 recoveries.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.