ALEPPO, Syria — Humanitarian groups fear catastrophic consequences if the coronavirus reaches overcrowded camps for the displaced in opposition-held areas in northwest Syria, so the organizations are boosting their efforts to raise awareness among the people living there.

From a clinic providing primary health care services in Al-Nour camp, 44 kilometers (27 miles) north of Aleppo city, community health workers have distributed educational brochures, going from one tent to another. The brochures contain drawings and instructions urging people to mind their personal hygiene, wear masks and not leave their tents unless absolutely necessary. The fliers also outline what people should do if they suspect they have COVID-19, the disease the virus causes.

Omar al-Hamoud, a doctor and administrative director of the clinic at Al-Nour camp, told Al-Monitor, “We are afraid that the coronavirus might reach the camps. It would then be difficult or nearly impossible to contain it.”

According to the latest report issued by the Assistance Coordination Unit, a Syrian nongovernmental organization in charge of coordinating donation efforts, the number of displaced camps in November had reached 320 in northern Idlib and northern Aleppo, near the Turkish borders. Nearly 1 million people in Syria’s northwest had to leave their homes due to a large-scale offensive waged by the Syrian regime in January. That campaign stopped after a cease-fire agreement was reached March 6 through mediation efforts by Turkey and Russia.