The Guardian: Syria Confirms First Covid-19 Case amid Fears of Catastrophic Spread

After weeks of denials from officials in Damascus, Syria has confirmed its first case of COVID-19, as fears mount of an outbreak that will have catastrophic consequences on the war-torn country, The Guardian reports.

The article written by Bethan McKernan reads that the patient is a 20-year-old woman who recently returned to Syria from an unspecified country.

"Appropriate measures have been taken," health minister Nizar Yaziji said.

"Nine years of war have devastated Syria’s infrastructure, economy and healthcare system. The World Health Organization (WHO) assesses that Syria’s “fragile health systems may not have the capacity to detect and respond” to the pandemic.

"While the area was granted some respite from a brutal regime offensive when a ceasefire was brokered on 5 March, bombing campaigns by Assad and his Russian backers have put 61 medical facilities out of action over the past year, and medicine, equipment and beds are already dangerously scarce.

"A total of 60 beds are now available before a COVID-19 outbreak, which aid agencies have warned leaves the three-million-strong population desperately ill-prepared,"  the article reads. 

Author: Bethan McKernan

Source: The Guardian 

Photograph: Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 

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