KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – In Kobani, north Syria, due to the successive decisions issued by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and the one by the Crisis Cell Management Team in the Euphrates Region regarding complete and partial lockdowns against coronavirus, residents were confused regarding which of them to abide by.
On April 18, Circular No.6 issued by the Crisis Cell Management Team in the Euphrates Region stipulated the implementation of a partial lockdown, provided that it be followed by a ten-day complete one.
Meanwhile, on April 21, AANES issued Decision No.105 that imposed a partial lockdown in all areas of north and east Syria, and a complete one in the Jazira and Tabqa areas.
Misunderstand
At a time when people are confused whether to implement the AANES’ partial lockdown or the Crisis Cell Management Team’s one, Kobani resident Saleh Muhammad says that people in the city misunderstood the last decision.
“Following the decision of north and east Syria, patrols closed the open shops,” Muhammad added.
Shop owners closed their shops during the first complete lockdown, while they opened the shops from 7:00AM to 5:00 PM during the partial lockdown.
When people started the implementation of the partial lockdown, they were surprised with the implementation of a complete one the following day, which confused them, according to supermarket owner Azadi Jebi.
“We have supermarkets that should open, especially as we are in Ramadan. So we should be allowed to open our shops from 6-7 hours a day,” he elaborated.
Decision implementation
Euphrates Region Health Board co-Chair Aziza Ibrahim says that they generally implement decisions issued by AANES regarding the lockdown against coronavirus.
“As a result of the increasing numbers of infections, the Crisis Cell Management Team in the region sometimes issues a decision for the implementation of a complete lockdown,” Ibrahim added.
The total toll of coronavirus infections in the Euphrates Region has come up to 768 cases, including 124 that have been recorded since early April, while there are 47 tests whose results have not released yet, according to the Health Board in the region.
“We imposed two complete lockdowns in the Euphrates Region. After the first lockdown that lasted for ten days ended, we imposed a partial one for four days, according to the decision by AANES,” she said.
“However, we decided to impose a complete lockdown in the region as a result of the increasing number of coronavirus infections,” she stated.
Before the implementation of the complete lockdown, the percentage of positive cases was between 40 and 50%, that witnessed a slight decrease during the lockdown, according to the Euphrates Region Health Board co-chair.
“People in the Euphrates Region misunderstood or were confused that the decision issued by North and East Syria is the one to be implemented,” Euphrates Region Executive Council president and member of the Crisis Cell Management Team Muhammad Shahin said.
Circular No.6 issued by the Executive Council of the region is the one to be implemented in the Euphrates Region based on the powers granted to regions by the Executive Council of North and East Syria, according to him.
There is inconsistency or even contradiction over the decisions and circulars by whether regions or Executive Council of North and East Syria regarding preventative measures and lockdowns against the coronavirus pandemic in northeast Syria, Shahin pointed out.
The decision issued by AANES gives regions the right to issue measures according to the spread of coronavirus in each region.
He stated that the increasing numbers and rapid outbreak of infections in the Euphrates Region pushed the Crisis Cell Management Team to implement restrictive measures; however, with some exceptions such as agriculture, livestock, health departments, municipalities, and services.