HASAKAH, Syria, (North Press) – Since the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria lifted their curfew on June 15, life in Hasakah and northeastern Syria has returned to normal, despite international warnings of the seriousness of the pandemic and the increased number of cases in Syrian government areas and neighboring countries.
Hasakah city recorded two coronavirus cases, a man and his wife living in the Omran district, leading the Health Board to impose a quarantine on 14 families there. On May 13, the ministry announced the recovery of the two cases and lifted the quarantine.
Radwan Muhammad, a dessert shop owner in Hasakah, said that majority of the residents did not follow the precautionary measures in combating coronavirus, especially after the lifting of the curfew.
Muhammad sees that hard living conditions and the social customs that impose mutual visits and social events obstruct people’s commitment to the precautionary measures. This is in addition to the lack of consciousness and recognition of the risks of infectious diseases.
The increasing number of the recorded infections of coronavirus in Damascus and its outskirts, which continues the risk, raises people's fears. The Autonomous Administration has previously accused the Syrian government of transmitting the virus to Hasakah.
According to the Syrian Health Ministry, the number of coronavirus infections reached 256 cases, of which nine died and 102 recovered.
Mahmoud Haj Ragheb, a resident of Tel Hajar, said that people do not follow precautionary measures in facing coronavirus, which has spread in neighboring regions.
He added that most of the residents live their lives normally, and the majority of restaurants, cafes, fast food, and dessert shops do not implement the measures in facing the pandemic. Health authorities don’t make proper observation of shops, people's movements and implementation of precautionary measures.
Two days ago, the WHO Middle East Regional Office warned of the danger of an explosion in the number of coronavirus infections in Syria, although the number of infected people is currently low.
It mentioned that "in Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt, infections first spread slowly then rapidly, and we expect Syria to experience the same risk."
But Seham Mala Ali, the Health Board spokesperson in Hasakah, said that they continue the implementation of precautionary measures to combat the risk of an outbreak of coronavirus, despite the end of the curfew in the Autonomous Administration's areas.
She added that "since the beginning of the curfew, we noticed that 85% of people have implemented the precautionary measures, as we had two recovered cases.
Mala Ali said that "due to the curfew, people were affected economically, so we lightened the measures, but we still take necessary precautions into consideration."
"Syrian government crossings with the Autonomous Administration are still closed with strict measures, and arrivals from Damascus undergo medical testing to ensure that they are not infected," she added.
Most of Syria's northeastern cities lightened the precautionary measures, and people live their daily life normally. Additionally, awareness-raising activities by civil society organizations have stopped at a time where coronavirus infections are on the rise in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and neighboring countries, as international warning of a new breakout of coronavirus continue.
(Reporting by Jindar Abdulqader, editing by Lucas Chapman)