Humanitarian volunteers and relief officers embarked on March 23 on a campaign to sterilize parts of Deir Ballout refugee camp, in the northern Syrian region of Efrin, in an attempt to prevent a propagation of coronavirus (COVID-19) among the residents.

A paramedic at the local clinic in the camp said efforts have been underway to distribute awareness-raising leaflets and pass on precautionary instructions to the residents.

Activists have warned that once the deadly virus bursts out in the region, the toll will be so heavy on hundreds of displaced Palestinian and Syrian families who are neither equipped with life-saving medicines nor with hygiene kit.

Hundreds of Palestinian and Syrian families who have been forcibly deported to northern Syria have already been grappling with an abject humanitarian situation as most of them have been taking cover in underequipped tents that risk to fall into pieces. High rates of unemployment and lack of relief assistance have made the area unlivable.