42 UN staffers, dependants catch Covid in war-hit Syria

BEIRUT/ BEIJING: More than 40 members of UN staff and their families caught the coronavirus in war-torn Syria, a UN official told AFP on Tuesday, even as global deaths from Covid-19 inched towards 900,000.

There were about 200 people including “staff and dependents, spouses, children, parents, who have displayed symptoms of Covid-19,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “From these 200, there are 42 staff and dependents who have been confirmed positive with Covid-19,” he added, speaking to AFP from Geneva, without specifying the nationalities of the infected personnel.

Three people had to be medically evacuated, but most of the others had only “mild” symptoms. The suspected cases were self-isolating for a 14-day period, he said, adding the virus had sickened people working in different UN agencies across the country.

Syria has recorded 3,229 cases of Covid-19, with 137 deaths registered in zones controlled by the Damascus government.

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