ALEPPO — Syrian religious institutions have been actively engaged in supporting official measures and efforts to counter the coronavirus and prevent its catastrophic spread across Syria in areas controlled by the government, the opposition and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

This comes as fear of a greater outbreak of the pandemic in Syria has been heightened in light of new cases and deaths.

On April 2, the Syrian government Ministry of Health announced the isolation of Sayyidah Zainab in the Damascus countryside. The city is home to several Shiite shrines and is frequently visited by Shiite pilgrims from Iran. 

Minister of Health Nizar Wahba Yazji had revealed a day earlier in a post on the ministry’s Facebook page that the concerned authorities were asked to isolate the town of Mneen, also in the Damascus countryside, following the death of a woman from there who became infected with the coronavirus. In another post, Yazji explained that the isolation procedure aims to preserve the health of citizens and was imposed in Mneen given the lack of commitment by the victim’s family to quarantine.