Displacement camps unprepared to face outbreak

Displaced people in a camp in northern Idlib said they felt unprepared to deal with the new coronavirus, lacking the necessary hygiene supplies and medical kits to keep themselves safe.

The area has few functioning hospitals following years of civil war and the medical infrastructure has been overwhelmed by the victims of recent fighting and displacement.

Aid agencies have warned that displacement camps in northwestern Syria are unprepared to deal with a possible coronavirus outbreak.

With nearly a million recently displaced people living in the overcrowded areas of Idlib province, the country's last rebel-held area, there are only 148 beds in intensive care units and 153 ventilators, Save the Children said in a press release.

Doctors Without Borders, which has been distributing hygiene kits in the camps, said it believed the disease could spread very quickly and cause a critical situation without additional help.

Syria has 10 confirmed infections and two patients have died so far.

The government has closed schools, restaurants and nightclubs, and imposed a nighttime curfew.

The country's healthcare system has been battered by nearly a decade of civil war.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.