March 2020. The new enemy has not yet arrived in northern Syria, at least not officially. But fears that COVID-19 will also reach the Idlib region are on the rise. The new coronavirus is already in the country. “Only” five people are believed to be infected — at least, that’s all the Syrian Health Ministry has confirmed so far. These past weeks, people in Idlib have not had to fear bomb attacks by the regime and its ally, Russia — there is a temporary ceasefire. More than a million people have fled their houses and villages in the province since the government’s military offensive began in December 2019, most of them women and children. They are all displaced in their own country, some for the second, third or fourth time, living in temporary camps under extremely difficult conditions. More often than not, 10 people share a few square meters in a tent, sleeping, eating and living at close quarters. Washing hands and keeping a physical distance are simply not possible in the overcrowded camps. Quarantine is not an option.
Mar 2020. Coronavirus in Idlib
