UK coronavirus variant cases soar in northeast Syria; vaccine yet to arrive

A doctor in northeast Syria raised concerns that the UK variant of coronavirus, more contagious than the original strand, could spread more easily in the region, causing more fatalities.
JIYAN Center, an 80-bed clinic set up to treat coronavirus cases, in Qamishli city, Rojava, northeast Syria, April 16, 2021. (Photo: Hisham Arafat)
JIYAN Center, an 80-bed clinic set up to treat coronavirus cases, in Qamishli city, Rojava, northeast Syria, April 16, 2021. (Photo: Hisham Arafat)

QAMISHLI (Kurdistan 24) – Several people have been infected with the so-called UK variant of coronavirus in the northeast region of Syria, doctors and nurses said on Friday. Cases continue to increase in Kurdish-led areas of the country amid a lack of access to vaccines.

Sherin Hisen, a doctor attending several hospitals and clinics in Syria’s northeastern city of Qamishli, told Kurdistan 24 that patients with the B.1.1.7 strand of the highly contagious virus tended to be younger compared to those infected with COVID-19 last year.

“Children who were infected with COVID-19 last year had some fever for one day, but those infected with the [UK] variant are experiencing severe symptoms,” she said.

“Children now suffer from fever, dry cough, and chest pain in addition to dyspnea,” Hisen said, referring to the medical term indicating shortness of breath.

The doctor also raised concerns that the UK variant of coronavirus could spread more easily in northeast Syria, causing more fatalities overall. She also noted that vaccines developed based on the original strain might be less effective.

Last week, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)—a governing body affiliated with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—imposed a 10-day curfew in an attempt to try to limit the spread of coronavirus in the region that borders Turkey and Iraq.

A fresh coronavirus outbreak has reached northeast Syria, overwhelming hospitals and clinics and leading to the lockdown.

The region that is home to some 5 million people reported, just on Friday, 220 new cases and five deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 13,423, including 447 deaths and 1,421 recoveries, according to the AANES Health Department. This is amid limited testing and tracking capabilities.

“The situation is getting out of control,” Jiwan Mustafa, head of the AANES Health Department, told reporters last week. “The speed at which the virus is spreading is alarming,” he said.

“The region has reached a very critical period, and we cannot stop the spread.”

Mustafa added that the real numbers are believed to be much higher. Clinics that were set up to deal with coronavirus cases are all full.

On Friday, about 70 beds were occupied at the JIYAN Center, an 80-bed clinic set up to treat coronavirus cases located in Qamishli city, a local official told Kurdistan 24, adding that most of the new cases were children and young people with severe symptoms.

In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Syria would receive its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the global vaccine sharing platform COVAX, allowing it to kick off its national inoculation program in April.

WHO said the first rollout – which could begin as early as the end of April or early May – aims to inoculate nearly 20 percent of Syria’s population by year-end, or almost five million people in government-held areas as well as the northeast and northwest.

Editing by Khrush Najari