First cases in Syrian refugee camp
Fears grow of cases escalating into an epidemic gripping the entire Kurdish region
Three health workers in a displaced persons’ camp in northeastern Syria have contracted Covid-19, the UN said yesterday, the first reported infections in the vast tent city.
The Al Hol camp is home to tens of thousands of people, including relatives of Daesh militants. It is run by the autonomous Kurdish administration that holds most of the northeast and has reported 54 cases in areas under its control.
A health official at the camp said the three staff infected work with the Kurdish Red Crescent in Al Hol.
“We fear that the virus could have spread to camp residents visiting health clinics,” he said.
The latest infections raise to nine the number of Kurdish Red Crescent staff in northeastern Syria who have contracted the virus, a volunteer said.
Nine years of war have battered health care infrastructure across Syria, but the situation in the northeast is particularly critical, as the Kurdish authorities have been left to cope with the coronavirus pandemic largely unaided.
This has raised fears that any outbreak could swiftly escalate into an epidemic gripping the entire Kurdish region.