After a drop in novel coronavirus cases for about a month, a spike in infections has gripped Syria in a panic.
The government announced the infection of six doctors and four nurses in hospitals in the capital, Damascus, amid an increase in daily cases.
It warned it would most probably reimpose curfew and lockdowns if the number of infections continues to increase across the country.
The Health Ministry announced on Thursday that 11 new coronavirus cases were registered among people who were in contact with infected cases, raising the total to 242. Two more people have recovered, taking the tally to 96.
The government ended the lockdown in late May, with movement across regions restored and the reopening of universities, schools, institutes, coffee shops and restaurants amid strict preventive measures. It also continued its awareness campaign to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but that did not prevent the surge in new cases.
Medical sources in Damascus said that infections recorded during the lockdown period were reported mostly among repatriates. The new cases that were confirmed in the past ten days, however, were confirmed among people already inside the country, which makes it dangerous should the outbreak fail to be contained.
“Two doctors and a nurse were infected at al-Mujtahid public hospital after coming in contact with confirmed cases,” the sources said, adding that two other doctors and three nurses were infected in al-Mouwasat University Hospital, as well as two doctors from the Doctors’ Syndicate.
The Health Ministry said that most of the new cases were reported in Damascus with 117. Eighty-six were confirmed in the Damascus countryside, 17 in Quneitra and five in Homs.
