Coronavirus in its second year starts with highest daily toll

Damascus, SANA-On the same day last year, Syria recorded its first case of Corona to a girl coming from abroad, and today the official toll rises to more than 17400 cases and 1163 mortalities.

During a year, the country went through three escalating curves of the pandemic, while the preventive measures took an intensified course at the beginning, the severity of which gradually decreased in consideration of the economic and social conditions.

Health Ministry announced the first case on March 22, 2020, to record between July and August and in mid-October of the same year, two ascending curves, and since the last quarter of February this year, it has monitored an increase in the number of infections recorded yesterday, Sunday, the highest number since a year, with 171 new cases.

The Ministry anticipated the arrival of the pandemic in the country by announcing a national plan to prevent the virus in February 2020, including the application of strict health measures at border crossings and the application of a 14-day quarantine for all those coming from outside the country, followed by government measures in March represented by the suspension of visits and trips, including religious tourism and the suspension of working hours in universities and schools.

After announcing the first case of Corona, the government intensified its procedures, as it announced on March 24, 2020, a curfew within and among the governorates and the closure of all commercial activities and shops during the period of the curfew.

These measures were gradually lifted in consideration of the economic and social situation and were not applied again.

Synchronising with the second upward curve, last October, the Ministry put an emergency hospital in Al-Fayhaa hall in Damascus, and an emergency management room to regulate the movement of ambulance to admit Corona patients.

During the last week of February, the Ministry announced the start of giving the vaccine against the Coronavirus to health cadres most vulnerable to infection, who are working in isolation centers, with priority for the older age group.

With the increase in the number of infections, Health Ministry allocated quarantine and health isolation centers in various governorates, equipped several laboratories to detect the virus and imposed isolation in some areas that recorded high cases of infection.

Bushra Dabin/ Mazen Eyon