Coronavirus Spreading in Syria’s Daraa, Sweida

Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
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Coronavirus Spreading in Syria’s Daraa, Sweida

Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
Taher Abdelbaki, a doctor, prepares to receive a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Ibn Sina medical center in opposition-held Idlib city, Syria, May 6, 2021. (Reuters)

Doctors in Daraa have warned of the outbreak of the coronavirus throughout most of the province, saying that the southern Syrian region was witnessing an unprecedented rise in the number of infections.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for security considerations, a doctor in Daraa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the province registered more than 120 new infections and two deaths over the past two days.

He added that the area saw an unprecedented rise in cases a few days earlier, reaching nearly 200 infections, the highest daily tally since the beginning of the outbreak.

The doctor said he expected that the coming days will witness a new increase in the number of infected people due to non-compliance to preventive measures and social distancing, in addition to the fragility of the health care system.

He stressed that the health sector is suffering from a shortage of medical equipment and necessary materials, while also noting the major damage to the infrastructure due to the long years of conflict.

Furthermore, the doctor confirmed the presence of new mutated strains of the coronavirus, which are more dangerous and rapidly spreading.

“We are witnessing infections among all age groups, including young people and even children,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Meanwhile, Sweida 24 Network said in a recent report that Sweida National Hospital registered the death of three patients infected with the coronavirus over the past week, along with the increase in the number of infections.

Despite the public awareness campaigns about the virus and recent vaccination campaigns carried out by the Ministry of Health, medical studies pointed to the spread of the fourth generation of the Delta variant, which spreads more rapidly among all age groups.

The Syrian Ministry of Health recently announced that the occupancy rate at Covid-19 wards in hospitals in Damascus and Latakia have reached full capacity.



France to Host Syria Meeting with Arab, Turkish, Western Partners in January

This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
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France to Host Syria Meeting with Arab, Turkish, Western Partners in January

This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)

France will host a meeting on Syria with Arab, Turkish, western partners in January, said France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday.

The meeting will be a follow-up to the one held in Jordan last week.

Speaking in parliament, Barrot added that reconstruction aid and the lifting of sanctions in Syria would depend on clear political and security commitments by the new authorities.

The new Syrian transition authorities will not be judged on words, but on actions over time, he stressed.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that the transition in Syria should be respectful of the rights of all communities in the country, the French presidency said after the leaders spoke by phone on Wednesday.

"They expressed their wish that a peaceful and representative political transition, in accordance with the principles of resolution 2254, respectful of the fundamental rights of all communities in Syria, be conducted as soon as possible," an Elysee statement said, referring to a United Nations Security Council resolution.  

Barrot added that fighting in northeastern Syrian cities of Manbij and Kobane must stop immediately.

France is working to find deal between Turks and Kurds in Syria’s northeast that meets interests of both sides, he revealed.

Macron made clear in his call with Erdogan that Kurdish Syrians needed to be fully-integrated in political transition process, continued the FM.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces must be part of the political transition process, he urged.