COVID-19 cases increasingly rapidly in northeast Syria

The Kurdish-led autonomous region's high population of displaced people and isolation following the UN closure of a border crossing is contributing to the virus' spread.
A Syrian man rides a motorbike past a mural painted as part of an awareness campaign by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) intitative, bearing instructions on protection from COVID-19 in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on August 16, 2020, after a spike in infections in the area. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
A Syrian man rides a motorbike past a mural painted as part of an awareness campaign by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) intitative, bearing instructions on protection from COVID-19 in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on Aug. 16, 2020, after a spike in infections in the area. - DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly in northeast Syria. The war-torn region is susceptible to an outbreak due to the effects of recent conflicts and the closure of an aid crossing in January. 

Coronavirus cases have increased significantly in August in northeast Syria. There were 327 total cases in the area as of Aug. 21, according to a report from Qamishli-based Rojava Information Center. This included a 145-case increase that week. There were at least 300 new cases in three weeks, the center said on Aug. 24, showing that the majority of the region’s confirmed cases are recent. 

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