Few respirators, lack of international cooperation in northeast Syria – Autonomous Administration Health Board

Qamishli market, North Press

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Co-vice president of the Health Board in the Jazira Region north east Syria, Mohammad Khalaf, said on Monday that the number of respirators is not commensurate with the increasing number of coronavirus infections, and the lack of international cooperation with the Autonomous Administration "worsens the situation."

 

There are 15 respirators in the Jazira Region, distributed in three quarantine centers for coronavirus infections, according to Health Board.

 

In a special statement to North Press, the co-president of the Health Board in the Autonomous Administration, Dr. Jiwan Mustafa, expected "a spike in the number of infections by the end of the current month." 

 

Khalaf said that the infections are subjected to home quarantine, and there are no infected cases in the marked centers in Jazira Region, "because these centers are marked for critical cases." 

 

Residents from Qamishli said that the lockdown that the Crisis Management Team announced is not fully implemented, and Internal Security Forces (Asayish) are lax in enforcing the measures.

 

In this regard, Khalaf said that "Asayish is responsible for monitoring the lockdown, while the municipality is responsible for sterilizing streets regularly."

 

"The Health Board issues the sterilization measures, while the municipality implements the measures in cooperation with them," an official in the Qamishli municipality said.

 

Khalaf added that "sterilization will not be of great benefit as in the first  lockdown, since infections are increasing dramatically in northeastern Syria."

 

Khalaf urged residents to implement precautionary measures and physical distancing, as "they are the most appropriate solution to prevent infections."

 

The number of recorded infections with coronavirus in the Autonomous Administration-held areas has reached 119, cases including five deaths and ten recovered cases, according to the Health Board.

(Reported by Reem Chamoun)