(Zaman Al Wasl)- Local councils in Aleppo’s countryside have doubled the precautionary measures against the novel Coronavirus, launching awareness campaigns about its spread and risks.
Abdul Khalil, head of the local council of Jarablus city, said a number of measures had been taken to halt the spread of the COVID-19 in the opposition-held areas, such as suspending classes, reducing working hours in the local council, temporarily closing all businesses and public and recreational spaces, including organizations, unions, cafes, sports centers, and others.
This also includes closing all bazaars, marketplaces and livestock markets, in addition to postponing all sports events and canceling visits to patients in hospitals during official work hours, allowing only one person to visit the patient at a time, preventing visits for patients in intensive care. According to Khalil, the focus was on preventing social gatherings, with the exception of restaurants, groceries and bakeries.
Nearly 600,000 people have now been confirmed with the coronavirus globally, and while at least 133,000 people have recovered from COVID-19, more than 27,231 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University in the US.
The local council of Afrin city also has announced that all public parks will be closed, banning all events in the designated halls or outdoor as well as open food stalls in markets and public roads, people who violate the decision will be legally accountable.
In support of local councils, the Revolutionary Movement of the eastern countryside of Aleppo, a group of independent civilian volunteers, launched a volunteer campaign to prevent covid-19 in the region.
Syria's weak healthcare system has been decimated by nearly a decade of war that has displaced millions of people and spawned rampant poverty, according to Al Jazeera.
The situation is especially dire in the country's northwest, with many warning that an outbreak would be "catastrophic",
The Syrian Response Coordination Group on Friday said there is one bed in intensive care for every every 16,534 and one ventilator for every 37549 people.
Hassan Al-Asmar, one of the founders, said that the members launched a voluntary awareness campaign earlier this week, distributing brochures and educating people in the markets and shops about the danger of this virus and how to prevent it. Large banners were placed in public places explaining the ways in which this virus spreads, coordinating with a number of bakeries to give out approximately 15 thousand paper brochures with the bread. According to Al-Asmar, last week, the local councils issued a decision to stop all demonstrations and protests as part of their plans to combat the virus.
The rescue civil defense agency started sterilizing public places in the border town of Azaz.
At least 127 spaces had been sterilized, including hospitals, health centers, schools, mosques and temporary shelters in the Azaz area.
Meanwhile, Civil Defense workers continued distributing brochures, and putting up posters at the entrances of cities and public places, with instructions on how to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The nine-year-old war has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and forced 13 million people from their homes, half of whom have left their shattered homeland.
Zaman A Wasl
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