DERIK, Syria (North Press) – In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) assigned for coronavirus patients at People’s Hospital in the city of Derik, northeastern Syria, medical team are striving to restore the pulse to an infected women after her condition has deteriorated.
Coronavirus department at the People’s Hospital is facing difficulties, the most prominent of which are lack of oxygen and drugs quantities for coronavirus patients in light of recording new cases.
“The department, and all hospitals in northeast Syria’s regions are facing difficulties as a result of the lack of oxygen quantities in comparison to the infection recorded on a daily basis in light of insufficient quantities of drugs,” head of Coronavirus Department at the People’s Hospital, Alan Ahmad, said.
“Meanwhile, medical services in Syria’s northeast have been badly affected as a result of the closure of al-Ya’roubiyah/Tel Kocher crossing, through which medical aid was supplied by World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations,” he added.
In July 2020, the al-Yaroubiyah/Tel Kocher crossing was closed to UN humanitarian access to north and east Syria due to the veto of Russian and China, which exacerbated the challenges facing the region in countering the coronavirus epidemic outbreak, according to civil organizations.
Today, the Health Board of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) recorded 12 deaths and 322 new infections, 28 of which were in Derik.
83 infections in a month
On October 7, the Crisis Management Team in the Jazira Region, northeastern Syria, lifted the complete lockdown imposed on all cities of Syria’s northeast on September 23 stressing the importance of complying with personal hygiene and physical distancing.
The Crisis Management Team called on the population to get vaccination against Covid-19 in the centers designated for distributing the vaccine.
Wearing face masks is a must under penalty of violation with a fine of 2,000 SYP for persons, and 10,000 SYP for shops and clinics,” the team added.
Ahmad stated that as a result of people’s failure to implement the lockdown’s measures, the number of the infections in the department has not decreased, as received between 14 and 18 infections per day.
During September, the People’s Hospital received 83 infections and suspected cases including 70 recoveries and 13 deaths, according to the head of the coronavirus department.
According to supervisors in the department, rooms at the department cannot accommodate those who accompanying patients that do not comply with physical distancing rules.
Four doctors, six anesthesiologists, and ten nurses are operating at the department in addition to an emergency and swabs team, which is consisted of eight people, two medical laboratory scientists, and four nursing assistants.
Critical cases
“Now, there are four cases at the ICU,” according to Abdulhannan, anesthesiologist at the hospital.
Meanwhile, “the number of the moderate cases differ in each wave. Currently, there are eight moderate cases and three suspicious ones,” Abdulhannan pointed out.
“We offer all treatment for free including drugs and all types of medical care,” he added.
In late September, the co-chair of the Health Board of the AANES, Jiwan Mustafa, said in press conference that “The situation in the health centers is frightening, as they are close to full, and the situation does not get better. Rather, it signals a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Only 4,500 people have got the Covid-19 vaccination in Derik so far. And it is available for those who want to get it at the health center in Derik, on Sundays and Thursdays, according to Health Committee in Derik.
“We call on people to cooperate with us seriously because this issue is really serious,” Abdulhannan added.