Syria has not yet confirmed any coronavirus cases but its 'fragile health systems may not have the capacity to detect and respond' to an epidemic, Hedinn Halldorsson, a WHO spokesman told AFP.
BEIRUT - Aid agencies are moving to prevent a novel coronavirus outbreak in conflict-plagued northwestern Syria, where damaged health infrastructure and massive displacement make containment a nearly impossible task.
With close to one million people displaced since December by a Russian-backed regime offensive on the Idlib region, overcrowded settlements are teeming with fresh arrivals, and many of the displaced are sleeping rough in freezing temperatures. Health personnel are being trained, "and laboratories in both Idlib and Ankara are being prepared and stocked to safely test and diagnose the virus", he added.A Russian-Turkish ceasefire deal went into effect Friday, bringing relative calm to Idlib for the first time in months.
"An outbreak would be devastating for thousands whose health status is already compromised due to lack of sufficient food, clean water and exposure to cold weather," she told AFP. Mustafa al-Abdo, the deputy head of Idlib's opposition-run health department, appealed for the formation of an isolated medical centre that would be ready to receive cases.
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