Translated material
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad infected with coronavirus
Syrian Arab President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for COVID-19, said in an official statement. his office
“Feeling mild symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 infection, the President and Mrs. Asma al-Assad passed PCR tests. The result showed that they were infected with the virus. They are in a stable condition and will continue to work in home quarantine,” the statement said.
Over the entire period of the pandemic in Syria, about 16 thousand cases of coronavirus infection were officially registered with a population of 16.9 million people. Authorities attribute only 1,063 deaths in the country to COVID-19.
Back in December 2020, the UN Security Council cited other data - at least 30 thousand cases in the country.
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The World Health Organization reported that only 0.3% of all medical personnel are trained to provide emergency assistance in Syria, and the infrastructure of the republic destroyed by the war does not allow treating coronavirus patients and keeping records of those infected and dead.
in the republic was registered On February 22 , the Russian vaccine against coronavirus Sputnik V . The Russian authorities plan to establish direct supplies of the drug to Damascus. According to the NYT and Al-Jazeera , Israel is ready to pay for the supply of batches of Russian vaccine to Syria in exchange for the return of its citizens from Syrian captivity. The Kremlin left this information without comment, only noting that Moscow is ready to help Damascus.