Displaced Palestinian Families Fear Unabated Coronavirus Outbreak in Northern Syria

Displaced Palestinian Families Fear Unabated Coronavirus Outbreak in Northern Syria

A boy poses for a picture during an awareness workshop on coronavirus at a camp for displaced people in Atme town in Syria's northwestern Idlib province (Photo: Aaref Watad/AFP)

Concerns have mounted in displacement camps set up in northern Syria after coronavirus cases were reported in the area.

The residents slammed AFAD for its mismanagement of the health crisis, saying only one nurse has been sent to the area to take nose swabs in order to test suspected cases.

Over recent months, human rights groups have warned of an unabated outbreak of COVID-19 in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, where limited access to running water, pharmacies and medical facilities means displacement camps are more susceptible to the spread of the highly infectious virus.

Displacement camps set up in northern Syria are especially vulnerable as most hospitals and medical facilities have been bombed, rendering them out of order.

Activists have stressed the need to supply Palestinian refugee camps with medicines, detergents, and disinfectants in order to help the displaced communities defend themselves against the deadly COVID-19 virus.

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