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Alarming COVID-19 Transmission Rates in Syria

A health worker tests an internally displaced Syrian boy as part of security measures to avoid coronavirus, in Azaz, Syria, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A health worker tests an internally displaced Syrian boy as part of security measures to avoid coronavirus, in Azaz, Syria, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
    Qamishli - Kamal Sheikho
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Alarming COVID-19 Transmission Rates in Syria

A health worker tests an internally displaced Syrian boy as part of security measures to avoid coronavirus, in Azaz, Syria, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A health worker tests an internally displaced Syrian boy as part of security measures to avoid coronavirus, in Azaz, Syria, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

The civil authority in northwest Syria ordered the closure of public places in Idlib, Jarabulus, and Al-Bab, amid an alarming rise of COVID-19 transmission rates among residents.

Syria reported a total of 5,719 COVID-19 cases and 241 deaths across its areas. The government's ministry of health reported 44 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 3,877. Meanwhile, the death toll stood at 178 after three new deaths were recorded.

For its part, the Health Board of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said it recorded its highest virus tally of 96 cases, which brought the total number of infections to 1,304.

Also, opposition-ruled areas recorded 654 virus cases and six deaths, one of them was reported in a refugee camp.

In regime-ran areas, Damascus reported the highest number of cases, amounting up to 1,346 infections and 82 deaths. The capital was followed by Aleppo with up to 904 infections and 22 deaths.

Moreover, the Syrian Interim Government published a report saying that only 600 doctors are available to provide health care for four million residents in northwest Syria, which means one doctor for every 10,000 individuals.

The report revealed that there are 201 beds in the intensive care units which means one bed to every 21,000 patients. It also said only 96 ventilators are working with full capacity; 30 of them are for children.

Muhammad Hallaj, the director of Syria’s Response Coordination Group (SRCG), said that the main concern is that the pandemic could spread in the camps and become uncontrollable.

Officials from AANES see that the hike in virus cases during the past days is alarming. Joan Mustafa, the joint head of AANES, stressed that the irresponsibility of individuals in dealing with the pandemic is putting the region at risk, stressing that everyone must be cautious.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.