‘Tragedy beckons in Syria’

Egypt reports 21 virus deaths

UNITED NATIONS, April 30, (Agencies): The UN humanitarian chief said that more than 40 cases of COVID-19 and at least three deaths have been reported in Syria, signaling that “tragedy beckons” after nine years of war that has left the country’s healthcare system decimated.

Mark Lowcock told the UN Security Council that while the number may sound low compared to other countries, testing in Syria is very limited. The UN special envoy for Syria, meanwhile, called for a lasting cease-fire to fighting in the country.

With millions of people displaced in crowded conditions and without adequate sanitation, he said Syria can’t be expected “to cope with a crisis that is challenging even the wealthiest nations.”

Efforts are being made to set up isolation areas in displacement camps and health facilities in Syria, but measures aimed at containing the virus are already having side effects such as skyrocketing food prices in some areas, he said.

Lowcock said essential medical supplies and equipment must be allowed into the country, and that the Al Yarubiyah border crossing from Iraq to Syria’s northeast must be reopened.

The border crossing was closed in January at Russia’s insistence, and Lowcock said deliveries of medical supplies to the northeast from Damascus have not filled the gap.

Syrian Kurds established an autonomous zone in the northeast in 2012 and were US partners on the ground in fighting the Islamic State extremist group. A Turkish offensive in October against Syrian Kurdish militants led the US to abandon its Kurdish allies, leading to strong criticism of both Washington and Ankara.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a cease-fire to all conflicts around the world on March 23 to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, and at separate Security Council meetings on Syria’s political and humanitarian situation there was widespread support for his appeal.

Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, welcomed the fact that there has been “significant calm in many areas of Syria,” with no all-out offensives since early March.

He said Russian-Turkish arrangements have taken hold in the northwest, the last opposition stronghold, and cease-fire arrangements between Russia, Turkey and the United States in the northeast “also continue to broadly hold.”

He said the calm was “uneasy and fragile” and there is a constant risk of things escalating.

He appealed for a cease-fire “that results in sustained calm and is nationwide in scope – one that does not see new assaults across lines of contact, and enables Syrians to access equipment and resources necessary to combat COVID-19.”

Egypt

Egypt has reported 21 new coronavirus fatalities, raising the death toll up to 380, the Ministry of Health announced.

Moreover, 226 people were diagnosed with the deadly disease in the past 24 hours, pushing the toll up to 5,268, the ministry’s spokesman Khaled Megahed said in the daily coronavirus press update.

Megahed estimated the number of cured patients at 1,335.

Iraq

Iraq’s Ministry of Health said two persons died of the coronavirus while 75 people tested positive for the virus to take total cases to 2,003 nationwide.

A ministry statement said 50 infections were registered in Basra, 20 in Baghdad and the rest in Karbala, Waset and Muthanna.

It also said two persons died to make total fatalities 92, while 27 people recovered to take tally to 1,346.

Yemen

Yemeni Minister of Health Nasser Baoum said two persons died of the coronavirus and five people tested positive for the virus in Aden, the country’s interim capital.

He was quoted by the Yemeni satellite channel as saying the five infectees were tested twice and both showed positive signs.

Baoum said Yemen witnessed many viral diseases which have similar symptoms to COVID-19.

Tunisia

Tunisian Ministry of Health registered five new coronavirus cases to make total infections 980.

A ministry statement said 294 people recovered from the virus while 40 have died.

It said 72 people were hospitalized and 20 in the intensive care units.

Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to stand in solidarity with the United States in its struggle against the coronavirus pandemic and as it recovers from the outbreak.

In a letter sent to President Donald Trump, Erdogan also said he was following “with appreciation” the American leader’s efforts to control the outbreak.

The letter was sent Tuesday along with a planeload of personal protective equipment that Turkey donated to the US It was made public on Wednesday.

Erdogan wrote: “I am very pleased to observe that, thanks to your measures, America has taken the first steps towards normalization by achieving a downward trend in the number of new cases.”

“You can be sure, as a reliable and strong partner of the US, we will continue to demonstrate solidarity in every way possible,” Erdogan wrote.

Meanwhile, Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said 2,936 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours, raising the country’s tally to 117,589.

The minister, in a press statement, confirmed 89 additional fatalities from the virus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 3,081.

The number of patients treated from the deadly virus and discharged from hospital has exceeded 44,022 in the country, while 1,574 others are still receiving medication in intensive care units, Koca was quoted by Anadolu news agency as saying.

Furthermore, medical labs conducted a total 43,498 tests for the respiratory disease over the past 24 hours, with the total reaching 991,613, the minister noted.