The head of the Syrian regime, Bashar Assad, and his wife have recovered from COVID-19 and returned to their regular duties on Tuesday, three weeks after they had tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said.
According to the statement, they had their PCR tests and the results were negative, and the mild symptoms of the virus that they had experienced before were now gone.
Assad, 55, and his wife, Asma, who is 10 years younger and had announced her recovery from breast cancer in 2019, had isolated themselves since testing positive on March 8.
Syria is witnessing a sharp increase in cases. Earlier this month, state media has reported that intensive care units in state hospitals in the capital Damascus were full and that medical staff have been called to stay on alert to deal with coronavirus patients.
The Syrian regime has so far registered more than 18,000 cases of the coronavirus and 1,247 deaths in government-held parts of the country, where the first case was reported in March last year.
According to the World Health Organization, there are nearly 21,000 cases in the last opposition stronghold in Syria’s northwest along the border with Turkey, as well as some 9,000 cases in areas controlled by US-backed Kurdish-led fighters in the northeast.
The real numbers are believed to be much higher, as testing is limited. Many Syrians cannot afford PCR tests amid the country’s severe economic crisis.
