The impact of the pandemic on northern Syrian camps
With the spread of the new wave of Covid-19 and delta mutator in northern Syria, the alarm was sounded again, this wave represents the greatest danger since the emergence of the pandemic. As the rate of infections reached 25,000 cases per day from the beginning of September.
The camps of northern Syria between the challenging reality and the current pandemic:
Over the past ten years, as a result of the constant bombing and systematic displacement, millions of Syrians have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in the camps of northern Syria, which began to appear in a random manner that lacks infrastructure.
However, the suffering of camp residents increased with the spread of the pandemic and the emergence of the first case there, as the work of many stopped due to increasing cases, while others suffered from securing their necessities due to the high prices that resulted from the pandemic, in addition to the difficulty of implementing appropriate precautionary measures.
Precautionary measures are hard-to-find luxuries, like washing hands for the duration recommended by the World Health Organization (20 seconds) is almost impossible in a camp where you have to walk for several meters to get drinking water, as for periodic hand sterilization, it is not an option. Many families cannot secure the price of their basic needs, so how can they secure the price of medical sterilizers?
The poor infrastructure of the camps implemented social distancing measures between individuals or even between the tents impossible, as the tents are almost adjacent to each other to make the most of the space and set up tents that may contain more than one family at the same time.
The reusable hand-made mask, which many women make from worn or old fabric, is the only solution for many to follow measures to prevent the virus and limit its spread as much as possible.
A rapid spread of the Corona pandemic in northern Syria
Since the beginning of September, the daily casualty rate has reached 25,000, mostly young people, reaching a total of 54,993 injuries, which poses a real danger to the camps of northern Syria with the impossibility of implementing the health ban or even following precautionary measures, in addition to the scarcity of medical capabilities to deal with the pandemic, while the number of deaths is 878 since the pandemic reached northern Syria so far, according to Health Cluster.
The vaccine, which is the most effective measure to protect against corona, was not sufficiently available, as only 110,000 doses arrived in northern Syria, while more than 4 million Syrians live there, and therefore the available quantity is sufficient for only 4% of the population.
It was obtained by workers in the first ranks of doctors, nurses, and paramedics, in addition to workers in the humanitarian field, the elderly, and those with chronic diseases.
Health preparedness during the pandemic period
Hospitals and health institutions were not qualified to deal with a challenging situation such as the Covid-19 pandemic, where human resources and medical equipment are insufficient, especially after many hospitals went out of service due to the bombing of the Assad regime.
In the year 2020 alone, the Assad regime and its allies targeted more than 35 medical facilities, 3 of which were out of service, while other facilities were damaged. This constant targeting led to a lack of readiness of hospitals that are not commensurate with the population numbers in northern Syria to deal with any possible pandemic.
Community isolation centers have reached their peak of receiving people infected with the Coronavirus and the new Delta mutant, as there are no more vacant beds.
Medical teams specialized in dealing with the pandemic are working around the clock to provide their services to the infected people, but they have become exhausted due to a large number of injured and the lack of qualified personnel.
Violet Organization’s contributions to reducing the outbreak of the pandemic
From the moment Corona appeared in northern Syria, Violet Organization worked to establish isolation centers for the infected, and rehabilitated its cadres to deal with cases, as it allocated 3 centers to isolate the infected and potential cases in Idlib, Ariha, and Kafr Takharim under the supervision of qualified medical staff. It also established a masks laboratory, the productivity of which reached two and a half million masks was distributed to medical and humanitarian workers and members of society. Violet also worked to sterilize public facilities periodically and provide awareness sessions for thousands of community members, in addition to distributing bags containing detergents, sterilizers, and awareness brochures.
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