In an exclusive talk with Omar Abu Leyla, a Syrian expert who focuses on security and governance dynamics, we have learned that the day before yesterday 20 patients with COVID-19 have been transferred from Al-Assad hospital in Deir ez-Zor to Damascus, without being given their test results until the moment of transfer.
At this moment, the testing for COVID-19 is quite a time-taking process. Samples taken from patients are currently freezed and sent to Damascus. Test results are received in 7 days. The Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria falsely stated that it developed test kits last week, and now keeps these cases quiet. Though the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria has posed a curfew, street cameras with online streaming show plenty of people in the streets.
North-eastern Syria is waiting for a disaster. If other measures aren’t put through, a massive outbreak will kill many innocent civilians in the region. This disaster will be the fault of hiding news, false statements and bad politics.
Exclusive: 20 cases of COVID-19 from Deir ez-Zor transferred to Damascus
