A death from the new coronavirus in Syria was reported on Friday by the UN in the northeast, the first in this Kurdish-dominated region in this war-torn country.
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53-year-old patient died on April 2, but semi-autonomous Kurdish administration accused World Health Organization (WHO) of not informing him immediately, blaming possible spread virus in its territories to the UN agency and the Syrian regime. Contacted by AFP, WHO did not respond immediately. On Friday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) assured that the WHO "provided information indicating that a death on April 2 at the Qamichli national hospital, in northeastern Syria, was subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 ”.
"Another family member (of the deceased) is currently in hospital with Covid-19 symptoms. Screening results are pending, " added a report shared on Friday by Ocha-Syria's Twitter account. Even though the region is under Kurdish control, the Syrian regime maintains a presence there and the hospital in question is run by the government of Damascus. In regime-controlled territories, the new coronavirus officially infected 38 people and resulted in two deaths, announced on March 29 and 30. The Kurds and the regime of Bashar al-Assad maintain tense relations.
In the past, the Kurdish authorities have deplored being under-equipped to deal with the spread of the Covid-19 disease, particularly in terms of breathing apparatus, and assured that they do not have screening kits. The Syrian Kurdish Red Crescent but also the Kurdish administration deplored Friday the delay of two weeks between the death and the announcement of the results of the screening. "There is a high risk of wide spread of the virus because of the time taken to inform the administration," regrets the Kurdish Red Crescent on its website. The Kurdish authorities "make WHO bear the responsibility for the spread of the virus among our fellow citizens because it has ignored the presence of a suspect case", deplores the administration in a press release.
In addition, the Kurds consider that "the practices of the Syrian government (...) endanger the lives of the citizens of Syrian Northeast" , accusing the power of Damascus of not "cooperating" with the Kurdish minority. The regime has adopted a series of measures in government territories to prevent the spread of Covid-19, with the closure of schools and restaurants, a severe curfew and a call to remain confined.
