Virus surge threatens northeast Syria camps, Save the Children warns
Authorities this month have confirmed 46 coronavirus cases across three camps hosting displaced people in northeast Syria.
A surge of coronavirus cases could worsen an already dire humanitarian situation in northeast Syria’s displacement camps, Save the Children said Thursday.
The charity said 46 COVID-19 cases have been reported this month across three camps for displaced people in the Kurdish-controlled part of Syria, which on Tuesday announced a 10-day lockdown aimed at staving off a new wave of the virus.
Since the beginning of April, 28 coronavirus cases have been reported in Roj camp, 15 in Areesha camp and three in al-Hol camp. Because of the lack of regular testing, Save the Children says the true number of cases is likely much higher. Most of the new cases are among mothers, the charity said.
“These new figures are incredibly concerning,” Save the Children’s Syria Response Director Sonia Khush said in a statement. “If this upsurge continues, it will only be a matter of time before hospitals and isolation facilities — which already have very limited capacity — are overwhelmed.”
