The agencies concerned with humanitarian affairs and the United Nations have warned of the high number of new infections with the Coronavirus among refugees and displaced persons throughout the Middle East, as the first cases were reported among Syrians living in camps in Jordan.

In an article in the British newspaper The Independent, writer Bill Tru said that the true rate of injuries among about 18 million displaced people in the region is unknown.

Due to the acute shortage of tests, but the United Nations data show that more than a thousand people have been confirmed infected in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon.

And the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirmed this week that the new Corona virus has reached Zaatari camp, the largest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan, not to mention Azraq camp.

It is reported that these two camps host about 120,000 people.

This raises fears of a major outbreak of the virus in an area where social distancing measures are difficult to implement.

The author indicated that in Lebanon, which is one of the regions suffering from exacerbation of Coronavirus infections, there are fears of a new mutation.

The health care services centers are suffering from terrible overcrowding, especially in light of the worsening financial crisis in the country, and the repercussions of the devastating Beirut explosion last month, which destroyed many Corona virus testing facilities.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, at least 13 Palestinian and Syrian refugees have died due to "Covid-19", while more than a thousand refugees have been confirmed infected.

The author quoted what was stated by United Nations officials who made clear that they fear the spread of the silent virus in overcrowded camps, where families cannot implement social distancing measures, and they fear the devastating side effects of the epidemic, such as unemployment and economic hardship.

According to the United Nations, at least 55% of Syrian refugees across the region lived in extreme poverty before the emergence of "Covid-19".

After the outbreak of the pandemic, this percentage increased to 75%, while no confirmed data on other nationalities of refugees are available, as humanitarian organizations such as the Norwegian Refugee Council have recorded similar trends.

In this context, Rola Amin, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, warns of an "epidemic of poverty", adding that the new "worrying" infections discovered in Jordan confirm the need for more support to refugee communities and the countries that host them. Although the United Nations provides free and immediate health care services to those infected with Coronavirus;

However, it is possible that the current crisis will eliminate years of work providing educational opportunities and financial aid.

According to Amin, "The devastating economic impact means that more refugees will suffer from a more miserable level of poverty, which will exacerbate the challenges they face. The pandemic also threatens to put the fate of major achievements, which were implemented in the interest of refugees and took years to achieve, to the test."

"The pandemic revealed that we cannot close borders, we cannot isolate ourselves, and that assisting refugee-hosting countries or humanitarian societies is not only a moral obligation; it is in everyone's interest," the spokeswoman adds.

The author quoted Muhammad Hassoun, a Palestinian refugee residing in Ein El-Helweh camp, as saying that "most of the people have not had work during the past six months, which has not only caused financial problems, but also psychological ones. We have noticed the increase in cases of violence within families." ".

The writer pointed out that Hassoun himself is unemployed due to the closure, and that he had to borrow from his friends to cover his expenses, while he tries to secure food parcels or meals from charities for people isolated in their homes.

According to the correspondent of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Samah Hadid, the economic repercussions of the Corona virus have exposed more displaced and refugee families to the risk of eviction, and made them unable to pay the rent.

Hadid pointed out that the virus has radically reduced income, forcing many to skip meals, starve to death, and reduce spending on sanitation or medical care, making them more vulnerable.

Hadid explains that "the levels of tension between refugee and displaced children in the Middle East have increased dramatically due to Covid-19, as children who were previously forced to flee hunger and war are now living in fear due to the epidemic," adding that this could be a toxic and chronic stress. Serious and long-term implications for children's health.

The author stated that there are concerns among invisible refugees, such as those held in detention centers, where Eritrean refugees in a horrific detention center for migrants in western Libya told The Independent newspaper via smuggled phones that they had not contacted aid agencies for 6 months, and that they were not protected from the potential spread of the disease. .

It is reported that about 20 prisoners in that particular prison in Zintan are suspected of having died from tuberculosis since 2018.

But, amid the squalid conditions in their cells, prisoners fear that the patients are newly infected with the Coronavirus;

Because the symptoms are very similar to those of TB.

And in the Lebanese Roumieh prison, where there are believed to be more than 200 cases of Coronavirus, a Syrian refugee said that the real number of cases was much higher, and that they did not receive appropriate treatment.

Videos taken from the cells showed about 10 men crammed into a room reserved for three people, and the refugee added, "We cannot stop the spread of this disease, we do not have enough place even to sleep at the same time, we need a response plan to cover the health needs of prisoners .. We need to." Hospitals to shelter us, and our families abroad are not allowed to send us medicines or vitamins. "

The author added that the United Nations confirmed that it was working to provide cash assistance and supplies to refugee communities.

But it needs more support from the international community.

Regarding this, Amin said of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "We need more funds, not only for the health aspect, but for all the secondary consequences and third-degree effects, as well as supporting the host communities .. It is better to address the problem before it is too late."