MECC Coronavirus (COVID 19) Weekly Report
SYRIA: COVID-19
Humanitarian Update No. 23
Reporting period: from 24 to 30 August 2020
Coronavirus cases: 2,703 Active cases: 1980 Recovered: 614 Deaths: 109 [1]
As of August 30th, the Syrian Ministry of Health announced that the total number of confirmed cases is 2703, 109 patients with confirmed infections died and 614 recovered, leaving 1980 active cases.
COVID-19 is having a dramatic impact on health services in Syria, where limited testing is obscuring the real extent of the pandemic, the UN’s Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator said on Thursday 27 August.[2]
However, all other available evidence continues to point towards a significantly larger outbreak in the Damascus region the scale of which far outstrips the official reporting.
Unofficial sites such as "Syria in context" estimated that the Syrian capital was likely suffering 60-100,000 cases based on Imperial College of London models.
A statement has been issued detailing that the death rates in the capital had reached a high of 150 per day, but that fatalities were now back down to 50 per day with a daily average between 25-45, comparable to pre-pandemic numbers.
Doctors in Damascus and across Syria continue to treat patients using social media, telemedicine and home care due to the lack of available hospital beds and fear within the population.
Volunteer projects have sprung up in Damascus and Aleppo and now include freely available oxygen canisters to those needing ventilators in their homes.
Some doctors who are providing help on social media said that they were treating 50-100 people per day in light of a shortage in PPE and oxygen, particularly for those being treated at home. Additionally, the lack of awareness of the risks, symptoms, treatments, and access to treatment of the disease were cited by doctors as concerns.
Further concerns surround the end of the school hiatus across the country. The government has decided to reopen schools on September 13 after having reviewed recommendations made by the Ministry of Health, a move that is worrying doctors and communities.
A plane carrying 250 Syrians stranded abroad arrived in Damascus from Egypt on 27 August[3], while Lebanon’s General Security announced that the borders with Syria opened on September 01 and 03 for Lebanese citizens who wish to return home.[4]
As of August 25, the northwest has conducted 5,160 Coronavirus tests, 61 of which have returned positive, 52 of whom recovered and one died.
In northeast Syria, 400 cases and 62 deaths have been reported as of August 25, indicating rapid spread in the region (here too it is believed that the true caseload outpaces official figures). The highest number of registered cases is in the city of Qamishli, where at least 45 infections were recorded since August 22.[5]
Lebanon: COVID-19
Humanitarian Update No. 20
Reporting period: from 25 to 31 August 2020
Coronavirus cases: 16,870 Deaths: 160 Recovered: 4,693
Highlights
Lebanon passed the 15,000 mark for coronavirus cases on the 28th of August.
During this reporting period, the number of corona cases reached a new record of 689 cases per day on the 27thof August with an average of 605 per day.
Despite the lockdown and the various measures implemented, COVID-19 continues to spread unabated.
Lebanon partially loosened the lockdown for economic purposes.
Updated measures
The Ministry of Health requested all doctors observing the medical personnel to refrain from entering cold cases into hospitals for a period of 15 days and limit them to emergency cases, and to work empty hospital beds of similar cases of recovery that do not require staying in, in order to preserve the health of patients and medical staff from the spread of infection.
The Ministry of Health requested all health observers in the staff of the Ministry of Health to join the epidemiological surveillance team and track cases through the Health Protection Directorate in accordance with the instructions of the direct chiefs and district doctors.
On 21/8/2020, the Ministry of Interior issued Memorandum No. 86 / M / 2020 related to clarifying some of the paragraphs in the General Closing Decision No. 1003, where some exceptions were added in Article Three of the decision where employees of Touch and Alfa were added, and the exchange shops. In addition to adjusting the opening times of libraries
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education issued on 19/8/2020 Decision No. 377 / M / 2020 stipulating that all educational institutions, public and private, in all their stages, stop teaching and conducting exams in presence during the period from 21/8/2020 to 7/9/ 2020.
Updated Measures
The Ministry of Public Health issued Memorandum No. 126 on 8/25/2020 regarding the identification of close contacts within two days before the appearance of symptoms (for the case with symptoms) or two days from the diagnosis of the case
The Ministry of Interior and Municipalities issued Decision No. 1032 of 8/27/2020 regarding the amendment of the opening and closing times of industrial and commercial establishments within the general mobilization procedures and the suspension of the implementation of Resolution 1003 related to the maximum closure, starting on Friday morning 28/8/2020. Non-compliance of citizens with preventive measures
On 26/8/2020, the Supreme Defense Council issued a decision to extend the general mobilization to the end of the year 2020 to confront the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.
Preparedness and response
The Ministry of Public Health opened a wing designated for treating people with Covid-19 at Al Zahra Hospital Center - University Medical Center, which was equipped in response to the call made by the Ministry of Public Health for private hospitals to contribute to providing medical services, in the context of confronting the local outbreak of Coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health received from India 70 boxes of personal protective equipment to combat Covid 19.
The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hassan, received from the Lebanese expatriate Ali Sabrawi 6 ventilators, which will be distributed to the Lebanese hospitals to enhance their preparedness in the face of the second wave of the Corona pandemic in Lebanon.
The Ministry of Public Health updated the list of hospitals that can treat patients for free.
Cooperation protocols were signed between governmental hospitals and the Lebanese University that allow students of medical colleges at the university to pursue their specialties in these hospitals.
Minister Hasan announced the start of the reception of Corona Patients At St. George's Hospital-Hadath.
[1] Worldometers, 30 August
[2] news.un.org, 27 August
[3] SANA, 28 August
[4] SANA, 28 August
[5] Syria in context, 26 August