So far spared by the coronavirus according to official figures, Syria announced Sunday, March 30, its first death related to Covid-19. Nine other cases have been officially identified by the authorities, which have adopted a series of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

"Death of a woman on arrival at the hospital in a state of emergency. After analysis it turned out that she had the coronavirus," said the Damascus health ministry, in a terse statement. shared by state media. The ministry does not provide details on where the patient died or how old she was.

Syrian doctors, they say, are said to be far more infected in the country. The authorities deny any cover-ups.

Curfew, school closings ...

Syria has adopted a battery of measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 disease, including a daily evening curfew, banning travel between provinces, closing schools and universities until mid- April.

But in a country devastated by nine years of war where medical infrastructure has been ravaged by conflict, fears of spread remain high. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the country has limited capacity to cope with the rapid spread of the virus.

Explosive health conditions in IDP camps

The pandemic threatens in particular the 6.5 million displaced in the country, recently recalled the UN investigators for Syria.

They mention in particular the more than a million civilians crammed into camps often near the Turkish border, in the province of Idleb, the last great jihadist and rebel stronghold in the northwest which currently enjoys a truce in the fighting.

The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for a ceasefire across Syria to help build a better response to the threat of the new coronavirus.

With AFP and Reuters

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