Hasakah faces major disaster if coronavirus spreads amid carelessness for preventative measures.
Hasakah – North-Press Agency
Delzos Youssef
Despite the strict precautions taken by the Health Board in northeast Syria to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, a large number of residents, particularly in the town of Tal Tamr 40 km northwest of Hasakah, do not adhere to the preventative measures amid the high prices of their supplies in pharmacies. Meanwhile doctors' initiatives to educate the population about the seriousness of the epidemic which is threatening millions of people around the world are absent.
Most people attribute their lack of interest in the preventative measures to the increase in the price of their supplies in light of unemployment, especially for people with limited incomes, after the imposition of the lockdown by the Autonomous Administration on 23rd of March and the extension of the lockdown period to 21st of April.
Saddam al-Jassem, a resident of Tal Tamr, said upon his return from the pharmacy after purchasing medicines for his family that the reason he did not comply with the preventative measures was that he did not have much contact with people and that he was satisfied that there is not any infection with coronavirus in al-Jazira region so far.
In the town of Tal Tamr, the internal security forces (Asayish) tighten security measures at the entrances to the town to limit the movement of pedestrians inside the markets, but the morning period witnesses gatherings of people inside food stores to buy their household needs without adhering to the preventative measures as wearing medical masks and gloves. In addition to this, they exchanged handshakes, which doctors warn against because it transmits coronavirus.
Youssef al-Ali, a resident of Tal Tamr countryside who went to the town market to buy some vegetables, said he does not comply with the preventative measures because of the high prices and because of his limited income, since he is a daily wage worker in the construction field.
However, Behzad Sino, head of the Pharmacists Union in Tal Tamr, had another opinion about the non-compliance with health procedures, as he told North-Press that there is negligence on the part of people about the preventative measures of coronavirus. "We see gatherings in markets and hospitals, and this poses a great danger to the spread of coronavirus if it emerges in the region," he said.
Sino pointed out that the absence of health awareness and the high price of protective supplies are two reasons why citizens do not adhere to the preventative measures of coronavirus, but negligence is the main reason for not adhering by the preventative measures.
He warned of the dangers of the virus if it emerges in the region amid this carelessness. "We will face a terrible catastrophe if people underestimate following the preventive measures against the coronavirus since the region lacks the necessary medical equipment and supplies," Sino said.