QAMISHLI, Syria — A health official in Syria's northeastern Jazira province told Al-Monitor that no cases of coronavirus have been documented in the province. Yet residents of the largely Kurdish region, governed by an autonomous administration, are not reassured by local officials' measures to protect the province from coronavirus, which has led to the deaths of 4,000 worldwide.

A Kurdistan TV report from Qamishli, the largest Kurdish city in Syria, stated that 1% of the population in Qamishli is wearing protective masks, as pharmacies and medical equipment sales centers are running low on masks.

Hani al-Ali, the owner of a medical equipment store, told Al-Monitor, “The use of health masks was the preserve of medical staff and family members seeking to prevent the spread of a certain virus, but after the spread of corona around the world, a lot of people sought to buy large quantities of masks, which caused a significant decrease in their numbers and an increase in their price.”

Pharmacist Amer Abdullah told Al-Monitor, “The price of masks increased by 250% as it ran out in several shops and pharmacies.”