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 Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.