Serhat – Rojava

Ciwan Mustafa is the co-chair of the Health Department in northern and eastern Syria. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infection that reportedly can be diagnosed using a test called ‘polymerase chain reaction’ (PCR). Mustafa noted that 1,200 PCR tests have been conducted to date. Of those, 425 were found to be positive.

He confirmed that 28 people have so far lost their lives due to COVID-19.

He stated that the health infrastructure has collapsed after nine years of war. They are struggling with dealing with simple illnesses, so the challenge is a great one concerning COVID-19.

Seventeen centres have been prepared across northern and eastern Syria to specifically deal with COVID-19 health concerns. As they have never witnessed anything like this before, he states that there is also a need to train health workers how to deal with this health crisis.

At the moment, although they have it under control to some extent, his fear is that once winter approaches, it may be more difficult to deal with the spread of COVID-19.

As precautionary health controls were also lax at Qamishli airport, it became a centre for transmission with attendant problems.

Worldwide, research is still at an early stage in finding solutions to the pandemic, he stated.

He added that they have received no co-operation in addressing this health crisis from the occupying forces and authorities in the north and east of Syria. These occupying forces had instead left civilians to cope on their own.

Mustafa appealed to people to take every precaution to not spread COVID-19 to family members or the community at large. He stated that: “This is a human duty and a national duty”.